


Floor of Broken Glass

by curtainremote



Category: Hamilton - Miranda, Hamilton - Miranda (Broadway Cast) RPF
Genre: Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 35,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25772920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curtainremote/pseuds/curtainremote
Summary: Clara is Hamilton's newest tech intern. When the unimaginable happens, it brings her closer to the Hamilfam.
Relationships: Lin-Manuel Miranda & Original Female Character(s), Lin-Manuel Miranda/Vanessa Nadal
Comments: 178
Kudos: 168





	1. Chapter 1

Her first day at Richard Rogers was incredibly nerve-wracking. Only the best of the best got to work on Hamilton. It wasn’t just the actors—lighting, sound, musicians, stage management—everyone was top tier. So here she was, a first year student at NYU, clinging on for dear life to the hope she wouldn’t embarrass herself.

The best part about NYU’s theater tech program was the clerkships. Students got to work on actual shows. Clara was lucky enough to be placed on Hamilton. She had an apprenticeship over the summer working on Wicked, so her experience bumped her to the top of the class.

One of the audio techs, Reggie, was showing her around. He was a taller guy, very cool and casual. He was probably in his late twenties.

“Hey Reggie,” a voice called.

They turned around and Clara saw it was Tommy Kail, the director of the show.

“Hey Tommy!” Reggie replied, “This is Clara, she’s doing her NYU clerkship with us.”

Clara was shocked. On the set of wicked, she kept her head down. She certainly never talked to the director of the show.

“Oh awesome,” Tommy said happily, “Welcome, welcome!”

“Thank you,” Clara managed. Before she could get anything else out, a new voice approached.

“What’s up, guys!”

Clara immediately recognized Lin-Manuel Miranda’s voice and her heart skipped a beat as she looked behind her.

“Lin!” Tommy invited him over, “I was just meeting Clara. She’s our new tech from NYU’s program.”

Clara was honestly surprised that Tommy had actually listened to her name and remembered it.

“Cool!” He replied, extending his hand, “I’m Lin, it’s great to have you!”

Clara was sure she was about to pass out from the shock of it all. She _never_ talked to any of the talent while working on Wicked, much less someone of Lin’s caliber. For all intents and purposes, she considered Lin a Broadway god. It was honestly humorous that he introduced himself, as if she didn't already know exactly who he was. She managed to shake his hand.

“T-thank you,” she stuttered, “I’m happy to be here.”

“Is this your first time working on a show?” Lin asked.

Oh god, he’s making conversation. Clara was only 18, so she wasn’t offended that Lin assumed she was inexperienced. She desperately held herself together. No fan-girling. It would be unprofessional.

“I actually was an apprentice at Gershwin over the summer,” she replied hesitantly, not wanting to sound conceited.

“Oh shit,” he said, impressed, “Wicked’s tech is way more complicated than ours. You’ll settle in just fine here.”

Clara could only smile and nod. Lin turned to Tommy.

“Ready to go over those notes with Alex?”

“Yup,” Tommy nodded and added as the two started to walk off, “Nice to meet you, Clara!”

“You too!” Clara said with a small wave.

 _Sweet Jesus_ , _did that really just happen?_

“You coming?” Reggie’s voice sounded.

Clara realized she had been frozen in place and that Reggie had already made it halfway down the aisle.

“Oh!” She exclaimed and quickly caught up.

I guess that really did just happen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heed the content warnings, my loves. Also referred to in this chapter: A “gel” is a transparent filter that is put over a stage light to change its color. They look little squares of colored cellophane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: assault/attempted sexual assault

There were a few hours between shows on two show days. Most everyone had left for a much-needed break, but Clara remained hard at work, resetting for the next show. It had only been three weeks since she started and she didn’t mind the bitch work all that much.

She paused, drinking gatorade from her sticker-covered water bottle—one sticker from each show she had worked on since entering high school. She then remembered that the lighting director had asked her to put away a few gels. She journeyed up to the lighting booth, feeling a little dizzy. She made a mental note to have a snack before the next show. She was surprised to find Reggie in the lighting booth.

“Hey, I’m glad you’re still here,” She greeted him, picking up the gels, “Lighting told me to put these away but I don’t know where they go,” Clara trailed off in question.

“Oh I’ll show you,” Reggie offered, waving Clara along.

“Thanks,” she smiled, following him.

He led her past the dressing rooms to a large closet. He opened the door and followed her in.

“Right up there, see the bin?” He pointed.

Clara scanned over the shelf and spotted it. “Yes,” she said, pulling out the bin and placing the gels neatly inside. She turned around and bumped right into Reggie.

“Oh, sorry,” she apologized, stepping back. Reggie didn’t move or say anything. Clara felt awkward in the frozen silence. “Okay,” she smiled conclusively, trying to prompt Reggie to turn around and leave.

Reggie stepped closer, putting his hands on Clara’s shoulders, his face nearing hers.

_Oh shit._

Clara immediately pulled away.

“I’m so sorry, I must have given you mixed signals,” Clara genuinely apologized, “I’m really not interested in—"

Reggie suddenly grabbed her, spinning her around and shoved her face-first until she was up against the shelving behind her. Air was forced from her lungs, escaping as a short scream as Clara smacked her eye and nose on one of the shelves.

Everything had changed in the blink of an eye. Was this really happening?

“Reggie, stop!” Clara yelled, trying to escape from his firm hold, “Please stop!”

The reality of what was happening set in and tears rose in her eyes. She should have never been alone with him. She shouldn’t have worn this skirt today. She shouldn’t have let him close the door. No one was going to believe this happened. Everyone loved Reggie. Was she even going to survive this? No one was around.

Reggie turned her around to face him.

“Relax and enjoy, baby girl,” he said lowly. He was pulling at her waistband, trying to pull down her skirt and tights.

“Stop!” Clara blindly reached on the shelf behind her, hoping to find something she could use as a weapon. She gripped onto a bin but managed only to knock it onto the floor, something made of glass shattering.

Reggie put a hand over her mouth. “Shut. Up.” He said through gritted teeth.

She bit him hard and he pulled his hand away.

“Please, stop!” She screamed.

\--------------

Lin, Chris, Jonathan, and Daveed had just arrived at the theater. They were climbing the stairs up to the dressing rooms, talking about tonight’s show. When they were making their way down the hallway, the distant sound of shattering glass caught their attention. They all paused and looked at each other. _You heard that, right?_ Daveed hovered toward the origin of the sound, a nearby closet. With all of them quiet, he swore he could hear a struggle occurring inside. Then they heard her scream.

“Please, stop!”

The terrified quality of her voice instantly kicked them into high gear.

Daveed grabbed the door handle and flung it open as all of them ran over. They were unprepared for the sight in front of them. A chorus of yelling erupted.

“Hey!”

“Get the fuck off of her!”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Daveed and Chris were the first two grabbing Reggie and pulling him off of Clara. Reggie effectively threw Clara to the floor in the process and she couldn’t help but cry out.

She could hardly understand what as happening around her. It was all so loud and happening so fast and so many people had suddenly appeared and now she was skidding across a floor of broken glass. Was she safe? She wasn’t sure.

Lin and Jon stepped out of the way as Daveed and Chris, still yelling, shoved Reggie out in the hallway. Chris wound up and punched Reggie in the face harder than he thought possible. Reggie stumbled back against the wall. Chris and Daveed rush forward to grab him again, dragging him further down the hall, away from the closet.

Lin recognized that it was Clara who was curled up in a ball on the floor. They made eye contact for just a second before Clara hid her face on her knees.

Lin glanced back at Jon who looked just as shocked and unsure as he did.

“Are any of the girls here yet?” Lin quietly asked Jon. He imagined that Clara did not want to be around men right now.

“No,” Jon replied somberly.

Lin knelt down, glass crunching under his shoes. _God, she’s so young. Is she even 18 yet?_ He thought of his son and tears blurred his vision for a moment. He blinked them away and focused.

“Hey” Lin greeted gently, “Clara, right?”

Clara barely lifted her head enough to peek at him.

“It’s just me,” Lin said carefully, “it’s Lin.” He sees Clara glance nervously at the man behind him. “That’s my friend Jonathan,” he responds to Clara’s uncertainty, “you’re safe, okay? I promise he’s gone.”

Being in this closet was becoming too much for Clara. She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“I don’t—I don’t want to be in here anymore,” She nearly whispered, panic rising.

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” Lin nodded in understanding, “Do you need help getting up?”

Clara automatically shook her head no. She started to shift, preparing to make her way to her feet. Glass painfully bit into the palms of her hands as she tried to push herself off the ground. She let out a small noise of distress and withdrew her hands quickly, brushing them off on her shirt. It didn’t even feel like her legs would move anyway.

She looked up at Lin and Jonathan, becoming more upset at how helpless and small she felt.

“I-I can’t…” She stammered.

“That’s alright,” Jon was quick to reassure her.

“We can help you,” Lin offered, “we just need to hold onto your hands. Is that okay?”

Clara was clearly hesitant, but reached out. “Okay.”

Lin and Jon approached her and each gently held onto one of her hands, helping her onto her feet. Pieces of glass clatter onto the ground as they fall off of her clothing. She stood up right into Lin and Jon’s personal space and was suddenly overwhelmed, feeling way too close.

She withdrew her hands and rushed to step away, backing right into the shelves behind her. This made her startle even more and she jumped, shrieking and beginning to cry. She wrapped her arms around herself and pressed her eyes shut, willing the world away.

Lin and Jon give her plenty of space, their hearts breaking for her.

“You’re okay, no one’s going to touch you,” Lin softly reassured her, “Clara, look at me.”

She looked at him with panic flying in her eyes, glancing between Lin, Jon, and the door.

“Clara,” Lin called to her again, waiting until her gaze landed on him, “Do you want to get out of here?”

She noded vigorously.

“Let’s go then, okay?” He suggested gently, starting to walk to the door with Groff, hoping she would follow.

Clara pauses, trying to think through her options. Yes, she decided, she wanted to follow them out. She made her way to the door.

In the bright fluorescent light of the hallway, Clara’s injuries became more apparent. She must have fallen on her side because she had glass and cuts all down the side of her right arm and leg. Her left eye was already swelling, a bruise in a straight line that extended from under her eye to the bridge of her nose.

She could feel both of the men’s concerned eyes on her and withdrew into herself a bit. She was pale and unsteady, shaking like a leaf.

“Do you want to sit down?” Lin gestured to the dressing room next door. He was praying she would say yes because she looked like she was about to pass out.

“I don’t feel good,” she replied absently instead of giving an answer.

This only increased Jon and Lin’s concern.

“Okay, let’s go sit down then,” Lin decided, leading her to the dressing room, careful not to touch her.

She cautiously sat down on the couch.

Jon pressed the door shut behind himself as he entered. He noticed Clara’s eyes flicker from him, to Lin and back to the door and how she tensed up. He paused as Lin looked to him, clearly noticing the same thing.

“Why don’t we just leave that open, actually,” Jon thought aloud quietly, opening the door and watching Clara relax a little.

Clara wanted to trust them--she _did_ trust them. But she had trusted Reggie, too… No one, nothing, nowhere, was safe anymore. She felt something hot creeping up within her chest.

“I don’t feel good,” she repeated, shifting uncomfortably as nausea consumed her.

Lin had been a father long enough to know what was about to happen. He grabbed the small trashcan by the door and rushed it over to her.

Clara registers that a bin was placed in front of her and throws up into it. She can’t help but start to cry.

“It’s alright,” Lin soothed, having knelt down beside her to secure the bin. He desperately wished he could at least hold her hand or do something, anything to help her.

While Lin and Clara were distracted, Jon saw Daveed and Chris enter the hallway, a myriad of emotions still on their faces. The men looked at Jon and he silently signaled for them to stay away. They nodded in understanding and retreated into Daveed’s dressing room.

“I’m sorry,” Clara cried, “I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Lin insisted, removing the bin and placing it beside her on the floor.

“I shouldn’t have gone in there with him,” Clara sobbed, speaking aimlessly at the speed of light, “I shouldn’t have let him close the door, I shouldn’t have. I was just trying put the gels away, I told him I didn’t—”

Clara looked directly at Lin.

“I tried to make him stop,” she said desperately, pleading, as if he didn’t believe her, “I tried, b-but he wouldn’t stop.”

“I know, I know,” He tried to comfort her, his voice cracking.

She put her head in her hands and continued to sob. “He wouldn’t stop, why wouldn’t he stop? I just wanted him to stop.”

Jon had one of his hands resting on his face in clear distress, tears clouding his vision. Lin closed his eyes, a couple of tears escaping. They could hardly bear listening to what Clara had suffered through and the pain in her voice.

Clara was struggling to breathe through sobs. She was only getting more upset.

“Clara,” Lin intervened, his voice wavering, “You’re safe now. Can you take a deep breath for me?”

Clara was sure there was simply no air in the room. She picked her head up, trying to breathe. She was drowning in panic.

“I just w-wanted him to s-stop,” she repeated through tears. She was too distant and distraught to understand him. Her struggle to breathe only intensified.

She was clearly having a panic attack.

“Jon, can you find an ice pack or ice cubes or something?” Lin requested.

Jon sniffled and went to search the fridge.

Lin shifted so he was kneeling directly in front of Clara. As soon as he was in her line of vision, she gripped his arm, much to his surprise.

“I can’t breathe,” she gasped, begging him for help.

“Yes you can,” He assured her sweetly, “you can. Take a few breaths with me, okay?”

He took an exaggerated deep breath in, guiding her. She tried as hard as she could to follow.

Jonathan returned, passing Lin an ice pack.

“I’m going to put this in your hand, okay?” Lin warned.

Clara nodded minutely. Lin placed it in her palm.

“I want you to hold onto that as tight as you can. Focus on how cold it feels.”

Clara nodded again, trying to follow his directions. She instinctively held her breath as she squeezed it, finally allowing her a moment to exhale fully after.

“There you go,” Lin said softly, “Now breathe in.” He demonstrated and she followed. “And out,” he exhaled.

After a few repetitions, Clara was finally able to regulate her breathing. Lin and Jon were relieved to see her calming down. She stared at the blue ice pack, watching it burn her hand.

“None of this was your fault, Clara,” Lin spoke evenly, “It’s his fault. No one else’s. Alright?”

Clara nodded, a little unconvinced but willing.

Lin noticed how exhausted and broken she looked.

“Why don’t you put that on your eye?” Lin suggested, motioning to the ice, “It’ll help with the swelling.”

Clara was confused and looked at her reflection in the mirror across from her. She hadn’t even realized the bruise forming around her eye and nose or the blood on her arm and leg. Now she was all too aware, the ache finally catching up with her.

“Ow,” she squeaked, placing the icepack to her face. Her eye was throbbing and she could feel bits of glass moving slightly in her skin. She didn’t realize she was still holding Lin’s wrist until she unconsciously tightened her grip from the pain.

Lin shared an uncertain look with Jon. She had just been the victim of a crime and was clearly injured.

“I think we should call 911,” Lin said hesitantly.

“No,” Clara interjected, pulling away and quickly escalating “No, please don’t!”

“Clara, you’re hurt--” Lin tried to reason with her.

“Please stop!” she nearly yelled.

This statement knocked the wind out of Jon and Lin. If they ignored her wishes now, how different would they be from Reggie in her eyes? She asked him to stop. So Lin stopped.

“Okay, okay,” Lin put his hands up to express his surrender, “we’re not going to make you do anything you don’t want to.”

Clara’s panic retreated, wanting to believe him.

“You have complete control, Clara,” Lin reaffirmed, “Is there anyone you want to call?”

She thought for a moment and then shook her head.

“I’ve—I’ve only been in school for 3 weeks, I don’t know anyone yet. I was nobody at Gershwin,” she explained quietly, “My mom lives in Nevada, and we don’t…” She trailed off in defeat. Could she feel anymore alone?

Lin looked to Jon again, hoping to come up with some sort of plan B.

Jon made the phone symbol with his hand and mouthed _Vanessa?_ with a slight shrug.

Duh. Lin should call his LAWYER wife.

“Would it be okay if my wife Vanessa came to talk with you?” Lin began, “She’s a lawyer and I bet you would feel extra safe with her around. She’s the best.”

Clara had been a fan of Lin for ages—she already knew exactly who Vanessa was, but she’d never tell him that. The idea of having her there was strangely comforting, so Clara trusted her instincts, nodding.

A flicker of a smile passed over Lin’s mouth. Vanessa would know what to do. She always does.

“Okay, let me just call her,” Lin started, beginning to get up.

Lin was interrupted by Clara’s hand suddenly reappearing on his wrist.

Clara hadn’t even realized she had grabbed onto him until Lin reacted. She immediately released him, looking embarrassed. She was still terrified, and Lin was currently the only thing standing between Clara and a profound sense of panic. She didn’t want him to leave.

Jon watched this silent exchange and decided that Lin clearly needed to stay.

“I got it,” Jon said, pulling out his phone, “I should go check on Daveed and Chris anyway.”

“Thanks,” Lin replied with a nod and Jon stepped out.

“I’m sorry,” Clara murmured, her eyes heavy.

“You have no reason to be sorry,” Lin told her kindly. She looked completely spent. “Why don’t you just rest for a few minutes,” he suggested, grabbing a throw pillow and placing it beside her.

Clara started to obey but paused, looking down the hall anxiously.

“He’s not coming back, Clara,” Lin reassured her, “and I’ll be right here, I promise.”

She nodded hesitantly before making herself comfortable against the pillow. She was limited in how she could truly position herself, given that one side of her body still had glass and cuts scattered about.

She seemed to fall asleep quickly. Lin briefly wondered if Reggie had drugged her, but he was hopeful it was just the panic attack that wore her out.

Now that he was more or less alone with his thoughts, he felt rage clutching his throat. He couldn’t believe what Reggie had done. He had seemed so… normal. Lin didn’t think anyone he knew was capable of doing something so despicable. Being proven wrong was equally shocking and disgusting.

Groff appeared in the doorway and Lin quickly pointed at Clara before putting his finger to his lips.

“Oh,” Jon answered in a barely audible tone, receiving his message.

Jon came close to Lin and they proceeded to whisper their conversation.

“I called Vanessa and told her what happened,” he recounted, “and she is actually only a few blocks away, so she’ll be here in five or ten minutes.”

“Good,” Lin replied, feeling a little relieved that back up was on the way, “what about Daveed and Chris?”

“Daveed is practically inconsolable,” he reported, “Chris is… scary angry.”

“He has a daughter. God I can’t even imagine…” Lin trailed off. He shook his head, as if freeing himself from his thoughts. “Where is… he?”

“Ran,” Jon replied, Lin just nods in response.

“You okay?” Lin checked in half-heartedly.

Jon just shrugged. “ _You_ okay?”

“I guess,” Lin sighed, dragging his hand over the stubble on his cheeks and chin before gesturing at the injured, unconscious girl lying on the couch, “but she’s not.” His voice broke a little.

“She really needs to go to the hospital,” Jon observed her with concern.

“I’m hoping V will be able to convince her,” Lin prayed.

“I’m so glad we found her when we did,” Jon said with a small sigh.

“I know,” Lin agreed, “God, wish it was even sooner though.”

“Do you think he got to…” Jon trailed off.

“I don’t know,” Lin replied, “I don’t think so. I think we got there in time. But god, the damage is already done.”

“Poor thing,” Jon shook his head.

“Will you make sure Vanessa gets in okay?” Lin asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jon obliged, “I’ll go wait for her.”

“Thanks man.”

Lin leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on his knees, resting his chin in his hands. He watched over her as promised, anxiously awaiting Vanessa’s arrival.

a/n: Alright y'all, heavy stuff. I hope it was well written enough to convey this heartbreaking, chaotic situation. Let me know what elements of the story you liked and didn’t like. Comments really help drive my writing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Question for you all at the end, please weigh in <3

When Vanessa appeared in the doorway, she found a distraught Lin who rushed to pull her into a hug. He was not only grateful that she had arrived. He also had a renewed sense of gratitude that she was safe, unharmed by the type of evil he had just witnessed firsthand.

“Lin,” Vanessa whispered, a bit surprised by the sudden embrace.

“Vanessa,” Lin sighed before releasing her.

He stepped aside and invited Vanessa into the room. She saw Clara, bloodied and bruised, curled up asleep on the couch.

“Oh my god,” she kept her voice quiet despite the shock, “Lin, she needs to go to a hospital.”

“I know,” Lin replied, “she’s so drowsy, it might just be the stress but I’m worried he drugged her too.”

“This was Reggie? The younger tech guy?” Vanessa asked, still in disbelief.

Lin nodded soberly.

Vanessa shook her head in disgust, her expression fading into sympathy as she walked a bit closer to Clara.

“Be careful if you have to touch her,” Lin warned her, “she’s been very jumpy.”

Vanessa nodded. She tried to position herself close enough that she wouldn’t have to yell at Clara, but far enough away to give her space.

“Clara?” Vanessa tried, then calling a little louder, “Clara?”

Clara’s eyes peeled open as she withdrew away from the voice weakly.

“It’s okay sweetheart,” She reassured her, “my name is Vanessa. I’m Lin’s wife.” She gestured to a chair: “is it okay if I sit with you?”

Clara nodded.

“I’m going to give you ladies some privacy,” Lin said headed towards the door, “I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

Clara simply nodded again, and Lin slipped out.

“I heard that something really awful just happened,” Vanessa began in a genuine, motherly tone, “I’m so sorry Clara. I want you to know that you’re safe and you don’t have to say or do anything you don’t want to, okay?”

“Okay,” Clara replied in a small voice.

“Do you want to tell me what you’re thinking about right now? Or how you’re feeling?”

After a long silence, Clara finally answered.

“I feel… far away,” Clara softly spoke to her hands as they sat fidgeting in her lap, “like I don’t really feel anything, I guess.” She was not sure why she was even telling Vanessa this. Clara didn’t feel particularly comfortable talking to people she had never met, but she was desperate for some sort of connection or safety.

“That makes a lot of sense,” Vanessa said, “Sometimes when feelings are just too big, my brain shuts them off to protect me. Do you think your brain is doing that?”

Clara nodded.

“How about physically, how are you feeling?” Vanessa inquired.

Clara’s senses felt a little dulled, but she was still aware of the incredible amount of pain wracking her body. Tears were rising in her eyes. “I’m fine,” she whispered.

“Sweetheart, are you sure?” Vanessa said sympathetically, looking to her eye and side, “that looks like it really hurts.”

Clara remained silent, tears completely skewing her vision. She willed every fragment of her face to hold them in.

“It’s okay if you want to cry,” Vanessa offered softly.

Clara decided to just give up—she was bruised and bloody and not fooling anyone. She began to cry. “It really hurts,” Clara sobbed, “I still feel dizzy and sick and I-I just want to go back to sleep.”

“Oh, Clara,” Vanessa soothed, “It’s okay.” She spotted a box of tissues on the desk and quickly grabbed it, placing it on the couch next to Clara.

Clara gratefully pulled a couple out, carefully wiping at the uninjured areas of her face.

“How would you feel about going to the hospital?” Vanessa asked carefully.

“I d-don’t want to go,” Clara replied, trying to slow her tears, “They’ll tell the police.”

“Are you 18?” Vanessa inquired. Clara nodded. “Then you don’t need to report this to the police unless you want to.”

“Really?” Clara seemed dubious.

“Yes,” Vanessa assured her, “The hospital is required to report that a probable crime has occurred, but they can do it anonymously. If you don’t want to tell the police, you don’t have to. You can just get the medical attention you need.”

Clara felt a lot more comfortable with the idea now.

“What do think about grabbing a taxi to the hospital and getting checked out?” Vanessa proposed, “we can go together.”

Clara hesitated. She was overwhelmed by the idea of going to the hospital and even more so by Vanessa’s offer to accompany her. She felt bad for taking up Vanessa’s time already, let alone dragging her to the emergency room too. They were essentially strangers, but Clara didn’t have anyone else and she certainly wasn’t about to go alone.

“I think that would be okay,” Clara said quietly.

Vanessa smiled warmly. “Do you think you’ll be okay to walk?” She checked.

“Um,” Clara considered, sitting up fully and checking in with her body, “I think so.” It sounded like more of a question than an answer.

Vanessa did not look convinced.

“Do you have your stuff here?” Vanessa asked.

“Yeah, it’s by the tech table,” Clara said.

“Hey Lin?” Vanessa raised her voice a bit, calling to the man outside the door.

Lin opened the door, popping his head into the room.

“Could you get Clara’s things from the lighting booth?” She requested.

“Of course,” He replied, then said to Clara, “What am I looking for?”

“My sweatshirt and my bag,” she listed, “they should be together next to the tech table. It’s, um,” Clara hesitated before continuing, realizing she was about to embarrass herself, “it’s an In The Heights tote bag.”

“Excellent taste,” Lin smiled. “Jonathan is right out here watching the door for you guys,” He added before hurrying off to the lighting booth.

“I’m really sorry about this,” Clara apologized to Vanessa.

“Don’t be,” Vanessa insisted, “This wasn’t your fault. Besides, I’m happy to help.”

Vanessa’s genuine tone lulled Clara’s guilt a bit.

When Lin returned, Jon went to hail a cab and Vanessa started to get Clara off the couch.

“Is it okay if I help you a little?” She asked, “I’ll just put my arm around your back.”

“Okay,” Clara consented, making her way to her feet with some assistance.

Vanessa helped stabilize her and they proceeded to the door. Lin walked alongside her as well, giving her space but ready to spot her in case she lost her footing.

Clara was incredibly uncoordinated, and Vanessa struggled to keep her moving in a straight line. They were halfway down the hall when Clara’s expression wanders towards confusion.

“Clara?” Vanessa asked quickly, her voice thick with concern.

“I need to sit down,” Clara mumbled, blindly reaching out to steady herself on something, someone, anything. Gravity seemed to drag her sideways; it almost didn’t even feel like falling.

“Whoa!” Lin exclaimed, instantly helping to catch her as Vanessa increased her grip. Clara emitted a small noise of distress. He felt terrible grabbing her in such a delicate state. “Okay, okay, sit down, right here,” He instructed her calmly.

Lin and Vanessa seated her on the floor. Lin immediately let go of her and stepped back while Vanessa held onto her, keeping her stable.

“Sorry,” Clara blurted.

“It’s okay, just take a deep breath,” Vanessa soothed, “Do you feel like you’re going to pass out?”

“No, no, I’m not lightheaded,” Clara explained, “I just feel like I’m spinning.”

“Have you had anything to drink today?” Vanessa asked.

“I’m only 18,” Clara replied, sounding heartbroken. Did they really think she showed up to work drunk?

“Oh no sweetheart,” Vanessa clarified, “I mean just anything—water? Something left unattended?”

A cold wave of realization crushed Clara. She had started to feel dizzy after drinking the gatorade from her water bottle.

“Oh god,” she choked, her hand flying to her mouth as tears sprung in her eyes again, “my water bottle. He knew which w--…” She trailed off in horror, tears now escaping. “I shouldn’t have left it, I didn’t…"

“Hey, that is not your fault, Clara,” Vanessa asserted gently, “You have every right to leave a water bottle wherever you please. The only person who did something wrong was him.”

Vanessa looked at Lin who seemed to be somewhere between punching a wall and sobbing. Clara was in the process of pulling herself together.

“Do you feel any more balanced now?” Vanessa asked, now very keen on getting her to the hospital as soon as possible.

“Yeah,” Clara replied in a small voice, starting to position herself to get up.

“Is it okay if Lin and I both help you outside?” Vanessa inquired, looking at Lin and back to Clara.

“Um,” Clara’s eye flickered to Lin for just a moment before she continued, “Yeah, that’s fine.” Lin had consistently respected her boundaries and Vanessa was here. She could trust him. Probably. Plus, she was in no condition to deny any and all help available.

Lin and Vanessa helped Clara back to her feet. Lin readjusted his hand onto her back and Clara startled, pulling away with a sharp inhale as she pressed herself closer to Vanessa.

“Sorry, sorry!” Lin said urgently as he quickly backed off, hands in front of him.

“No, it’s okay,” she reassured him with a strained voice and a wince, “It just hurt.”

Lin and Vanessa frown at each other. They hope they made the right decision to not insist on calling an ambulance.

“Here, why don’t you hold onto me,” Lin offered, moving to be at her side and presenting his forearm.

Clara hesitated and then lightly placed her hand on his wrist.

As they continued down the hall, Clara’s slight grip on Lin intensified. Her vertigo shoved her in his direction until she was leaning against his side, clutching onto him. She desperately tried to fight it, not wanting to feel the bare skin of his arm against hers or the fabric of his hoodie bunch against her shirt.

Clara’s body language screamed her discomfort, her neck straining to keep her face as far away from him as possible. She refused to look straight ahead, instead casting her eyes down and off to Vanessa’s shoes. She started shaking as she tried to stay focused on her steps. Her mind kept elbowing memories into her view. Tears were collecting in her eyes and her breathing was picking up.

“You’re okay,” Lin whispered, “you’re safe,” almost inaudible. He felt awful knowing that he was upsetting her.

“Almost there,” Vanessa added as they exited the stage door.

They were greeted by cool autumn air and Jon opening the door of a cab. Vanessa helped her in, carefully shutting the door after her. Jonathan handed Vanessa Clara’s belongings and headed back to the theater. Vanessa turned to Lin.

“Keep me posted,” He said as Vanessa hugged him.

“Of course,” she replied.

He pulled away but held onto her shoulders. He looked at her with soft eyes.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice wavering.

“You did good, Lin,” Vanessa replied softly, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Vanessa went and climbed in the other side of the taxi. Lin watched as they drove away. He laced a hand into his hair, letting out a deep sigh.

“Lin.”

Jonathan’s voice pulled him to the present. He retreated back to the theater, his thoughts swirling. Jon put an arm around him.

“Let’s go talk to Daveed and Chris,” Jonathan decided and Lin nodded, heading to Daveed’s dressing room.

**A/N:**

**Poll: what should come next?**

**A) Clara and Vanessa's next scene**

**B) Going to the dressing room with the guys, then Clara and Vanessa's scene**

**Thank you so much for reading. I hope some of you can find the same catharsis I've found while writing this <3**


	4. Chapter 4

The men sat in silence in Daveed’s dressing room while Chris continued to pace. What could possibly be said? There was nothing to say.

They all decided to politely ignore the fact that Daveed was quietly crying until he completely broke down, sobbing.

“Daveed,” Groff said somberly, wanting to offer him comfort.

“She was so fucking scared,” Daveed sobbed, “How could anyone be _capable_ of doing that? And god, I completely mistook him for a nice guy and that… that makes me fucking sick.”

“Well he’s a piece of shit!” Chris snapped, “honestly, we should have killed him while we had him! The world would be a better place. Now we have to hope that our piece of shit justice system will actually work? I’m not holding my breath.”

“If she reports it,” Groff said quietly.

“What do you mean ‘if she reports it?’” Chris repeated.

“She said she didn’t want to report it,” Groff replied.

“Bull shit!” Chris spat, “I mean, we witnessed it. We witnessed a crime. We can report it ourselves.”

“Chris, you can’t,” Daveed said dejectedly as he pulled himself together.

“And why not?” Chris shot back.

“Because, you really think that would help her?” Daveed sniffled, “doing something without her consent? Against her wishes? Do you really think she needs more of _that_ kind of shit right now?”

This quieted Chris for a moment.

“But he’s a danger,” Chris tried.

“I know, fuck, I want him off of this planet too, but you can’t make that decision for her!” Daveed shook his head, “you have to respect her. He didn’t, but you can.”

“Should’ve killed him while I had the chance,” Chris muttered, sitting down heavily on a chair.

After a brief silence, Groff spoke.

“Everyone’s going to be back soon,” Groff said, “I don’t think we should tell anyone about this.”

“This isn’t our story to tell,” Daveed agreed. 

“Guess not,” Chris nodded. He looked at the only man who had remained silent during this whole exchange. “Lin, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied.

They knew he wasn’t. Lin was the most sensitive man they’d ever met. There was no way he could be okay right now.

“Are you sure?” Chris prodded.

“Yeah,” he said before changing the subject, “If any of you guys aren’t up for performing tonight let me know. We can call in some swings.”

“I need the distraction,” Daveed said.

“Yeah me too,” Chris agreed.

“I’m good,” Groff nodded, “what about you? I can give Javier a call.”

“No it’s fine,” Lin said dismissively.

“Are you sure?”

“I mean, what else am I going to do?” Lin said.

The men considered this. It’s true: the alternative would be sitting at home all by himself, waiting for Vanessa to return.

“So…” Chris dragged out, “we’re just going to pretend this never happened?”

“For now, at least,” Lin said, “and if anyone asks, the lunch we got together isn’t sitting well, okay?”

Everyone nods in agreement. 

What a fucked up world they lived in.

*******

Vanessa had helped Clara into a wheelchair. She parked her a few feet short of the check-in desk.

“I’ll go get this started, okay?” Vanessa told her and Clara nodded.

Vanessa approached the nurse standing behind the desk. She activated her lawyer mode.

“Hi,” She started with a flash of a smile that quickly faded, “I’m here bringing a friend in. She was just sexually assaulted and needs medical treatment but does not want any police involvement at this time. She would also like to speak with a victim advocate. I saw online you have volunteers available 24/7, is that correct?”

“Yes,” the nurse replied professionally, “If we can just get her checked in, we’ll be happy to help.”

“Thank you,” Vanessa said. She retrieved Clara and rolled her over to the nurse who was now beckoning them to follow into a small triage room.

“Do you want me to wait outside?” Vanessa asked.

Clara shook her head.

“Okay,” Vanessa took a seat. She felt honored to have Clara’s trust.

“Hi, I’m Penelope,” the nurse greeted Clara, “I’m going to get you all checked in. Can I have your name and date of birth?”

Vanessa watched as Clara slowly but surely answered the nurse’s questions. A bracelet was printed and wrapped around Clara’s wrist. The nurse moved on to getting Clara’s blood pressure and asking questions about her symptoms, examining some of her wounds. Clara was visibly uncomfortable but holding her own. The nurse then took them to Clara’s room. She carefully explained that Clara needed to change into a gown and put all of her clothes into the paper bag on the bed. The nurse then excused herself.

“Do you need any help changing?” Vanessa asked.

“No, I think I got it,” Clara replied, picking up the gown.

“Okay, I’ll be right outside,” Vanessa said as she stepped out into the hall.

A couple of minutes later, Clara called Vanessa back in.

“All set?” Vanessa peeked into the room.

“Yep,” Clara replied as she settled onto the bed.

Vanessa entered, seeing Clara tucked in a tight ball. Clara wanted the gown to cover every inch of her skin, both for comfort and warmth. Vanessa unfolded the blanket placed at the bottom of the bed and laid it out over Clara.

“Oh, thank you,” Clara said quietly. She stretched out underneath it, feeling a bit of peace knowing her body was concealed.

“Do you need anything?” Vanessa asked her.

“No, no,” Clara denied, “Thank you so much.”

Clara had never felt this… cared for? Her mother wasn’t a very warm woman, to say the least.

“I’m just going to text Lin and let him know we got here okay,” Vanessa said as she pulled out her phone and quickly sent him a text. She decided the best course of action now was to resume some level of normalcy with Clara. She probably would appreciate a distraction. “Are you from New York?”

“No, I actually just moved here in May from Nevada,” Clara replied, “I started at NYU a few weeks ago.”

“Oh awesome!” Vanessa said, “What’s your major?”

“Theater tech,” Clara’s energy picked up as she spoke, “That’s how I got my clerkship at Hamilton.”

“That’s so exciting,” Vanessa said happily, “how did you get into theater?”

Clara’s eyes grew a little wider and she smirked as blush spread across her cheeks.

“You can’t tell Lin, okay?” Clara started, “but I saw him in In The Heights when I was little. It was the first time I had ever come to New York City or seen a Broadway show. From that point on, I knew it’s what I wanted to do.”

“Oh my god, you’re kidding!” Vanessa smiled, “and now you’re working on his show—talk about full circle, huh?!”

“I know!” Clara squealed quietly. She had never shared that joy with anyone; how happy she was to work on a show created by the very person who started it all for her. None of her friends or family were really into Broadway, so she didn’t have anyone to celebrate with. Vanessa gets it.

“I remember when we were taking our seats just being blown away by the set, like wondering how they brought a street corner from outside and put it on stage,” Clara explains, “And then seeing the show and thinking about how everything on stage gets to happen. I was like, ‘oh yes, I want to be one of the people who gets to make it all happen.’”

“Should I make the obvious Hamilton joke right now?” Vanessa asked, beginning to crack a smile.

“Okay, yes, you could say I wanted to be in the room where it happened,” Clara rolled her eyes with a little laugh. Vanessa giggled.

Clara realized she was actually pleasantly distracted. Vanessa has made her feel incredibly comfortable, all things considered. They continued their conversation for a couple minutes until there was a knock on the door.

A small blonde woman appeared in business attire.

“Clara?” She confirmed.

“Yes,” Clara nodded.

“Hi, I’m Lola,” she said warmly as she entered, “I’m a volunteer with the DOVE team.”

“Dove?” Clara looked at her a bit blankly.

“Domestic and Other Violence Emergencies,” Lola explained, “I’m here as an advocate just for you. I know this process can be super overwhelming, so I can walk you through what to expect and all of the choices you have. You don’t have to talk to me, or anyone, for that matter, but you can use me as a resource as much or as little as you’d like.”

“I definitely have a lot of questions,” Clara said quietly.

“Okay,” Lola replied sweetly, “We can start there if you want. Is it okay if I sit?”

“Yeah, of course,” Clara said.

“Do you want some privacy?” Vanessa offered.

“If that’s alright…” Clara said, feeling guilty to be kicking her out.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Vanessa reassured her with a smile as she picked up her purse, “Whatever makes you feel comfortable.”

Once Vanessa had departed, Lola asked what questions Clara was thinking about.

Clara felt like she had to explain the whole event outright to be sure what happened to her even qualified as sexual assault. I mean, she wasn’t raped. She was fully clothed. It stopped before it even really started. She already knew the guy. Looking at it that way, it wasn’t even _that bad_ , right?

“Whether an attack is attempted or completed, it’s incredibly traumatic,” Lola clarified, “Someone touched you, with sexual intentions, against your will. That is sexual assault.”

“But I went into the closet alone with him.”

“Going into a closet with someone in no way implies consent to sexual activity.”

“But I still had all my clothes on. I mean, it could have been so much worse. I wasn’t even… raped… so why do I feel so…” Clara swallowed uncomfortably, tears rising in her eyes, “bad.”

“What happened to you is _enough_ , Clara. It was horrible and awful and wrong, and it is _enough_ to give you the right to feel what you’re feeling. Someone who drowns in 3 feet of water is just as dead as someone who drowns in 20 feet of water. Comparing the two doesn’t make sense when you consider the outcome.”

_Oh._

Clara is frozen, overcome with an emotion she can’t quite put her finger on. Lola notices.

“It’s okay if you want to cry,” Lola said sympathetically, “I’m fully stocked with tissues.”

Apparently Clara had been waiting on permission because as soon as Lola said it, she started bawling. Lola handed her the promised tissues and quietly reassured her until she calmed down. Once Clara felt like she could speak, she decided to ask about the other matter weighing heavily on her mind.

“Is-is it true I don’t have to report this to the police?” Clara asked.

“That’s true,” Lola confirmed, “You can even consent to evidence collection without any obligation to make a report. Basically, that means we can get all of the evidence the police would need during an investigation without even opening an investigation. That way, you can have more time to decide whether or not you want to pursue pressing charges and also have the best quality evidence if you do decide to press charges.”

“Should I press charges?” Clara asked hesitantly.

“That’s completely up to you,” Lola replied, “It’s a personal decision, but I can tell you about what it would look like if you did press charges, if you’d like?”

“Yeah,” Clara said, “It sounds like… a lot.”

“I won’t lie to you—it is a lot,” Lola admitted, “but if it sounds like it would bring you the most peace, it can be worth it.”

Lola went on to explain the entire process, start to finish. Clara asked some questions along the way. Once they wrapped up their conversation, Lola brought up a couple of questions of her own.

“My first question is—would you like to do the evidence collection? Again, no obligation associated with that,” Lola said, “You can also decide to only do some parts of evidence collection and deny any you don’t feel comfortable with.”

“Yes,” Clara said almost confidently, “I want to do that.”

“Okay, great,” Lola smiled, “How are you feeling about making a report?”

“Um,” Clara hesitated, “Can I think about it some more? I kinda want to talk to the person who came with me about it.”

“Of course,” Lola said, “Do you want me to get her?”

“Yes please,” Clara nodded.

“Okay, let me go track her down real quick.”

Clara wasn’t all that sure why she wanted to consult with Vanessa. Maybe it was because she was a lawyer or maybe it was because she felt comfortable with her.

A moment later, Lola returned with Vanessa in tow.

“I’ll be at the nurse’s station right out here if you need anything, okay?” Lola said before exiting.

“Doing alright?” Vanessa asked as she sat down with Clara.

“Yeah I… I wanted to talk to you about… I’m trying to decide if I want to press charges.”

“How are you feeling about it?” Vanessa inquired.

“I’m not sure,” Clara started, “I think I want to, but the idea of it scares me. But I don’t want to _not_ do it out of fear. But I’m scared.”

“What about it scares you?” Vanessa asked.

“Having to see him. Or if he gets mad and comes after me. And everyone knowing what happened. Plus having to go to court, being questioned... And I don’t have the money for lawyers and legal fees.”

“Well, take out the financial factor,” she said, “I think this kind of choice should be made without that coloring your decision.”

“But it’s the truth. I don’t have the money.”

“Just, trust me,” Vanessa assured her, “Take that part out and let’s talk about the rest.”

“Okay,” Clara agreed, “So I guess my first fear is that he’s going to hurt me.”

“I can see why that is super scary,” Vanessa nodded, “If you did decide to report it, I’m sure that’s something we can talk to the police about. I mean, ideally he would be in jail indefinitely so you wouldn’t even have to worry about it, but I think it would be healthy to prepare yourself for the fact that he might not be.”

“Yeah that’s what I’m worried about,” Clara sighed, fidgeting with her hands, “And god, a whole trial? I don’t know if I can do that on my own. Or with school.”

“Well do you think you would be comfortable telling your mom about this?” Vanessa asked, “Maybe she could even come visit you?”

“Oh, we don’t…” Clara awkwardly searched for her words. She was about to reveal a whole lot about herself with someone she had met two hours ago. “My family and I don’t really… talk. After I came out to them…” Clara quickly glanced at Vanessa to gauge her level of acceptance, but was relieved to see no change in her caring expression, “they made it very clear that we weren’t going to talk anymore.”

Vanessa kicked herself for bringing that up. By asking the question, she’s managed both to force Clara to come out to her and also tell her about how she’s been disowned by her family. _Nice going Vanessa, that’s the last thing Clara needed right now,_ Vanessa thought to herself. There was no way Vanessa could have known, but she still felt guilty. Her heart managed to break even further for Clara. She would never understand how parents can disown their children over who they love.

“Clara, I’m so sorry,” Vanessa said with sincerity.

Clara felt a pang of discomfort. She really didn’t like pity and right now she seemed like the poster child of a sob story. She was strong and independent, not pitiful. Usually, anyway.

“It’s okay,” Clara replied with a shrug.

“Well, we can build you a support system of your own—a real one with people who accept you for who you are,” Vanessa said, “I’m sure you’ll get to know your classmates better and make friends, and I know there are lots of resources and support groups. I bet Lola knows all about that.”

“That’s true,” Clara considered then sighed, “It’s still so scary.”

“Oh, of course,” Vanessa agreed, “it’s okay to still be scared. These are all just ideas that maybe can help a little. Why don’t you tell me about why you _do_ want to press charges?”

“I don’t want him to hurt anyone else,” Clara replied, “And what he did was wrong. He shouldn’t think that it’s okay or something that he can get away with.”

“That’s true, he is a criminal,” Vanessa nodded, “How do think it would make you feel?”

“It would feel like taking back control, I guess?” Clara pondered, “Like, empowering.”

“Wow that sounds like it would be a really positive part of the process,” Vanessa observed.

“Yeah,” Clara shared a glimmer of a smile before it sunk. She paused before continuing quietly. “If I didn’t report it… Would that make me a bad person?”

“No, not at all,” Vanessa shook her head strongly, “how would that make you a bad person?”

“Because… if he does it to someone else,” Clara said slowly, her voice breaking, “it would be my fault. I could have prevented it.”

“You are not responsible for his actions. The only person responsible for his actions is _him_ ,” Vanessa insisted, “He is a predator. He preys on people. You have no responsibility in that.”

Clara felt a little sense of relief. So this choice really was hers.

“Knock, knock,” Lola announced her arrival, “the nurse and doctor are here to see you—is it okay if they come in?”

“Yep,” Clara replied.

“I’ll step out, okay?” Vanessa said as she got up.

Clara nodded.

“I’ll be close by if you need anything,” Vanessa added as she slipped out.

Vanessa journeyed out to the waiting room and pulled out her phone.

 _“She’s in with the doctor now.”_ She texted Lin.

 _“How is she?”_ He responded quickly.

 _“Pretty okay, all things considered. How are you, mi amor? Are you sure you’re up for the show tonight?”_ She asked. She knew who she married—Lin was not okay.

_“I’ll be fine. I need to keep busy. Did you tell her about what we talked about?”_

_“Sort of. I don’t want to overwhelm her. She brought up paying for a lawyer and I told her not to think about that.”_

_“Well, just make sure she knows we’ll do and pay anything she needs. The guys said the same thing. We will get her justice if she wants it.”_

_“Lin-Manuel Miranda, you have the most beautiful soul.”_

_“I have to go. Best of wives and best of women.”_

Vanessa waited for about an hour, hoping that Clara was fairing okay. Lola came to retrieve her after, leading her back to Clara’s room.

One of the women from earlier, who she assumed was the doctor, was tending to Clara’s arm.

Clara had clearly been crying but seemed calm and collected now.

“Hey,” Vanessa said sweetly, returning to her spot at Clara’s side. Clara greeted her with just a smile in response.

“Alright, a few pricks. This will get you nice and numb. Ready?” the doctor asked Clara.

“Yes,” Clara replied.

Vanessa deduced that the doctor was using lidocaine to numb Clara’s cuts so any glass can be removed. Clara squeezed her eyes shut in preparation.

“Do you want to hold my hand?” Vanessa offered.

Clara nodded and took Vanessa’s outstretched hand. The strength of her grip varied as the doctor injected the lidocaine in multiple places around the cuts.

“There we go,” the doctor said, “should be all numb now. Let me know if you feel anything and we can do some more.”

The doctor picked up tweezers and got to work removing small glass chunks from Clara’s wounds, dropping each piece with a plunk into a small pink basin.

“Doing okay?” The doctor asked Clara.

“Yep, I don’t feel anything,” she replied simply.

“Perfect,” the doctor smiled.

“Girl, you are 100 times tougher than I am,” Vanessa laughed incredulously.

Clara giggled. The doctor made small talk with them as she made her way down Clara’s side, pausing to numb her leg before continuing on. Luckily her leg wasn’t nearly as bad because of the thick tights she had been wearing.

Once she finished, the doctor explained that a technician would be in to take her to xray soon and then she excused herself with a smile.

“How did everything go?” Vanessa asked.

“Alright,” Clara replied, “I decided just to do the evidence collection for now.”

“Okay,” Vanessa said with quiet enthusiasm, “Do you like Lola and the doctor and nurse?”

“Yeah they’ve been good,” Clara nodded, “The whole thing is just weird though. Like, they had to ask me so many questions and take pictures of me and take my water bottle and clothes… I mean, they were really nice about it and talked me through everything. It’s just weird.”

“I’m sure it’s all very uncomfortable, but I’m glad they are doing what they can to make it a little less intimidating,” Vanessa replied thoughtfully.

“Honestly one of the most upsetting things was the water bottle,” Clara almost had to laugh at herself, “Sounds kinda ridiculous, I know. I’ve collected stickers from every show I’ve ever worked on and put them on there. It was really special.”

“That doesn’t sound ridiculous,” Vanessa contested, “it held all of those good memories for you. It makes perfect sense.”

 _How did Vanessa always manage to say the right thing? Maybe it was a lawyer thing._ Clara wondered.

As promised, a tech arrived to bring Clara to her x-ray and then returned her in a few minutes time.

Clara and Vanessa resumed their chatting, enjoying each other’s company and the distraction. Vanessa pulled up cute videos of Sebastian. Clara asked her about what she does as a lawyer—what is ‘fashion law’ anyway? Every once in a while, Lola or the nurse would pop in to check on Clara, ask if she needed anything, or take her vitals.

Around 9pm, the doctor returned with an update.

“So your x-rays came back perfect, no facial fractures at all,” she assured, “And all of your other results were normal, but unfortunately, we did find rohypnol in your tox screen.”

“Roofies?” Clara clarified quietly. The doctor nodded repentantly. “Okay,” Clara murmured, swallowing with some difficulty. Her heartrate soared on the monitor beside her as she became fidgety and pale.

“Clara, are you okay?” Vanessa asked softly.

“Sorry, yeah,” Clara apologized with a nod, her voice disappearing, “I… I’m sorry.”

He had _planned_ this. He had _chosen_ her. An agonizing sense of disgust violently swirled in her stomach. Her chest heaved a little as she tried to suppress a sob.

“It’s okay,” Vanessa whispered with concern laced in her voice.

Clara then fell apart, tears streaming.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Vanessa said sadly, shifting nearer to Clara.

Clara weakly reached towards her and Vanessa instinctively moved closer before hesitating. Vanessa made quick eye contact with Lola. _Am I doing this right?_ Lola gave a tiny nod, urging Vanessa to continue. Vanessa softly took one of Clara’s hands in hers and placed her other hand on Clara’s shoulder. Clara leaned into her touch.

“He-he planned it,” She stammered in anguished disbelief, tears falling hard, “He planned it.”

“I know, I know,” Vanessa tried to soothe her with a crack in her voice, so badly just wanting to cry with her, “it’s going to be okay Clara.”

“You’re in a safe place, Clara,” Lola added, “we’re all here to support you. You can feel whatever you’re feeling.”

“What did I do?” Clara sputtered, “I don’t understand. I don’t think I flirted with him. N-none of my outfits were that bad. I don’t underst-stand.”

“Clara, sexual assault has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with power,” Lola explained, “What you wore or what you did doesn’t matter—it was only about him and his desire for power.”

“Yeah, remember what we said earlier?” Vanessa continued, “He preys on people because he is a predator. You have absolutely no responsibility in that.”

Clara took a moment to breathe, trying to accept their words.

“It just feels like it’s all my fault,” Clara shook her head with disappointment.

“It’s so common to feel that way,” Lola assured her, “Just try to remind yourself as much as you can that it’s not true.”

“Okay,” Clara nodded with a deep sniffle.

Lola produced a small box of tissues, offering them to Clara.

“See, I told you I’m always fully stocked,” Lola gently quipped.

This made Clara smirk as she used a couple of tissues. She noticed the doctor was still sitting, patiently waiting to continue her spiel.

“I’m sorry,” Clara said with an embarrassed chuckle, “please continue.”

“Don’t apologize, really,” the doctor replied earnestly, “You can take as much time as you need to process all of this.” Clara nodded gratefully. “Since the rest of your tests were normal and we have your wounds cleaned up, we can discharge you and get you home soon. How does that sound?”

“Awesome,” Clara replied, eager to escape that sterile room.

“Alright, we’ll get started on your discharge paperwork,” she said with a small smile.

Lola and Vanessa sat with Clara and talked about what her plans were for after she was discharged.

“Just to go back to my dorm, I guess,” Clara shrugged.

“Do you have a roommate?” Lola asked.

“No, I live in a single,” Clara replied.

“Please, are you sure you don’t want to come stay with us tonight?” Vanessa asked, not wanting to force the idea, but desperately wanting to help.

“Oh no, no,” Clara said quickly, “I can’t do that. I’ll be fine, trust me.”

Clara had absolutely no idea if she would be fine, but she couldn’t possibly stay with Vanessa and Lin. It was too… personal and she already felt horrible for dragging them into this. The fact that Vanessa has spent five hours in the ER with her was bad enough. Clara’s guilt grew as she imagined that Vanessa should be at home with Sebastian, not babysitting her in the hospital.

“Are you sure?” Vanessa said dubiously, “you’ll be all alone.”

“I live with a thousand other kids,” Clara said, putting on a brave face, “I’m never alone. It’s Saturday night on a college campus, people will be around.”

“At least let me put my number in your phone, just in case you change your mind?” Vanessa tried.

Clara knew it would give Vanessa some peace of mind, so she picked up her phone, unlocking it and handing it over. Vanessa created a contact and typed in her number.

“You can also take my card,” Lola said, passing her a business card, “It has all my contact information. If you have any questions at all or decide you want to proceed with charges or you want information on the resources we talked about, feel free to contact me. My email is on there too, if that’s easier.”

“Thank you,” she said to both of them. This was an overwhelming amount of kindness. She wasn’t sure what else to say.

The nurse gave Clara guidance on taking care of her bandages and some more paperwork. Vanessa and Clara thanked everyone profusely, especially Lola, for their help. They stopped at the pharmacy on the way out to pick up Clara’s pain medication.

“I’ll ride with you to your dorm,” Vanessa declared.

“That’s in the complete opposite direction of where you’re headed,” Clara said disapprovingly. It was kind of weird that she knew where Vanessa lived, but it’s not her fault Lin decided to write an entire musical about it.

“That’s alright,” Vanessa said, “I just want to make sure you get home safe. And you’re sure there’s no way to convince you to stay with us tonight?”

“It’s so generous of you to offer, really, thank you,” Clara replied, “but I’ll be fine.”

Vanessa wasn’t so sure of this—and honestly, neither was Clara—but she didn’t want to push it.

They got into a cab and Clara gave the driver her address. Vanessa felt a little creepy, but she made a mental note of where it was, just in case. The sat mostly silent for the ride, until they arrived in front of Clara’s building.

“Will you text me when you get to your room?” Vanessa requested.

“Sure. Vanessa, thank you so much,” Clara said, getting misty eyed, “Seriously, I can’t thank you enough. And Lin too.”

“You’re so, so welcome,” Vanessa replied, “Call or text me if you need anything at all, okay? Even just a listening ear, I’m around.”

Vanessa was pleasantly surprised when Clara gave her a hug.

“Thank you,” Clara said quietly before letting go and retreating out of the taxi.

“Take care of yourself,” Vanessa called out with a wave.

“I will,” Clara said, returning the wave and closing the door.

A couple minutes later, Vanessa received a text.

_In my room. Thank you so much for everything._

She shot off a quick reply.

_You’re more than welcome. Get some rest :)_

When Vanessa arrived back home, Lin was waiting to greet her.

“V,” He rushed, giving her a quick kiss as he pulled her into his arms, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, mi amor,” Vanessa soothed as she pulled away to get a good look at him, “Are you okay?”

Lin was ready to reply that he was fine, but as soon as his eyes met hers, everything he had been suppressing all night came flying up. He broke down crying.

“Mi amor,” Vanessa sighed sympathetically, wrapping him back up in her arms, “it’s okay.” She ran a hand through his hair and let him cry against her until his tears slowed. “Come on, let’s get ready for bed,” she recommended. He nodded, wiping his eyes. They got changed and slipped into bed.

“Te amo,” Vanessa whispered, tucking herself under his arm.

“Te amo también,” Lin replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

There was something profound in the way they both quietly cried themselves to sleep, safe in each other’s arms.


	5. Chapter 5

Clara was done. She was crying on the floor of her dorm room, overcome with anxiety and suffering. She had survived through Sunday, shuffling through the day, not leaving her room.

It was Monday that was her breaking point.

Sunday night was full of horrible nightmares. She finally just decided not to go back to sleep, getting up around 4am. Her entire body was so sore she could barely bring herself to get out of bed. She took her pain medication before proceeding with her day because she couldn’t possibly get through without it. Sliding off her pajamas and into her clothes was quite a feat. She had a doctor's note that would excuse her from class for the rest of the week, but she didn't bother to use it.

Her black eye garnered the attention of pretty much each person she passed on the way to class. The feeling of watching eyes was not at all helping the persistent paranoia that was gripping her.

_Where is he? Is he here? Does he know where I am? He knows I go to NYU. He could be anywhere. Anyone here could want to hurt me. I’ll never know until it’s too late. Everyone is a threat. No one is safe. I will never be safe._

She sat through classes with her head on a swivel, constantly looking back at the doors.

_Who is here? Who is coming or going? Let me check behind me one more time. Was that seat empty a second ago?_

Every unexpected sound and movement poured a slick sense of panic over her. She all but ran back to her dorm once her last class finished, having absolutely no idea what the lesson was even about. She just needed to be back in her room. Then she would be safe.

She locked her door, throwing herself to the ground in a fit of sobs.

She hadn’t even made it to noon but it felt like she had lived a whole lifetime worth of stress in those few hours. The world seemed different now. Darker, dimmer, more sinister…

She fumbled through the belongings in her bag knowing exactly what she needed to do, fishing out a business card.

_Lola Dorrel, Domestic and Other Violent Emergencies Advocate_

She dialed the number.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” Clara started, realizing she had not planned anything to say, “this is Clara. We met Saturday at Presbyterian?”

“Yes, of course,” Lola said, “It’s good to hear from you, Clara. How are you doing?”

“I, um, I think,” Clara tried to construct her sentence, “I want to press charges.”

“That is incredibly brave, Clara,” Lola said sincerely, “I would be happy to help you do that.”

She didn’t feel brave. She felt like a coward. Too afraid to even leave her room.

Pathetic.

Lola explained that she can meet her at the police station to be there to advocate for her during the reporting process.

“It’s good to have outside support as well,” Lola said, “Do you think it would make you more comfortable if the person who came to the ER with you was there too? I didn’t catch her name.”

“Vanessa?” Clara replied, “Yeah, but I can’t ask her to do that.”

“Why is that?” Lola asked.

“I don’t want to bother her,” Clara explained meekly, “I already feel bad for dragging her to the ER with me. She barely knows me.”

“I don’t know about that,” Lola doubted, “I could tell she cared about you a lot. Have you talked to her since then?”

“Yes,” Clara replied, “She’s checked on me every day.”

“It definitely sounds like she wants to support you, don’t you think?” Lola encouraged.

“Yeah, but,” Clara tried, “what if she’s busy?”

“Then she’ll say she is busy,” Lola said simply, “but she might be available and really happy to support you.”

“Yeah,” Clara said half-heartedly.

“What do you think,” Lola asked, “Do you want to give her a call? Even just to say hello?”

“Yeah I guess,” Clara hesitantly agreed. She desperately wanted Vanessa to be there, she just felt guilty for taking up her time.

“Okay, why don’t you do that and let me know how it goes,” Lola suggested, “You can send texts to this number, by the way. It comes up as a message on my phone.”

“Okay,” Clara replied, “Thank you Lola.”

“Of course,” Lola replied, “Talk soon.”

“Bye.”

Clara scrolled through her contacts and found Vanessa’s number. She paused, wondering if this was appropriate. What if Vanessa had only said that Clara could contact her just to be courteous, not because she actually wanted Clara to? Clara prayed that she had meant it because she was verging on desperate.

She decided to send her a text, a happy medium between calling her and not contacting her at all.

**Clara _  
_**_Hi Vanessa, sorry to bother you_

To Clara’s surprise, Vanessa began typing back after a moment.

**Vanessa _  
_**_Hi Clara! You’re not bothering me at all. How are you doing? Do you need anything?_

This woman was way too generous; too good to be true.

**Clara** _  
I actually have a question, if you have a second._

**Vanessa** _  
Of course, what is it?_

Blame it on Lola.

**Clara** _  
I am going to the police station to make a report and Lola said it’s good to bring someone you know for moral support. I don’t know if you’re free or have time or if you would even be interested in doing that, but she said I should ask._

Vanessa’s answer was almost instantaneous.

**Vanessa** _  
Absolutely!_

Clara saw the “typing” symbol for a minute before the next message arrived.

**Vanessa** _  
One of my colleagues specializes in this area of law and I was wondering if it would be okay if she talked to you? I can’t imagine how scary the thought of a trial must be. Would it put your mind at ease to talk to her? She might be able to help you with your report too. There’s no fee or anything, it’s just a consultation._

Clara nearly cried on the spot. She had heard enough horror stories about the handling of sexual assault cases to fear the US judicial system. This lawyer sounded like a godsent.

**Clara** _  
Oh my god, I would be so incredibly grateful if she has the time!_

**Vanessa** _  
What time are you planning to go to the station?_

**Clara** _  
3pm_

Clara didn’t receive anything from Vanessa for a couple of minutes after that. Clara texted Lola, letting her know that Vanessa was coming, then she received another message from Vanessa.

**Vanessa  
** _Perfect, she is free too. Is it okay if she comes? Her name is Melanie Springs. She works with these cases all day every day and I promise she’s really nice!_

**Clara** _  
Oh my god, are you sure she doesn’t mind coming on such short notice? I would love for her to be there._

**Vanessa  
** _Short notice is part of the job. Don’t worry, she’s really looking forward to meeting with you :)_

Clara updated Lola, letting her know that a lawyer would also be joining them.

**Lola**   
_Excellent! Having a lawyer’s guidance can help you feel more confident. Do you know who it is?_

**Clara  
** _Melanie Springs_

**Lola**   
_Clara, Melanie Springs is the best sex crimes lawyer in the entire city._

Clara literally gasped. It all seemed like too much, like she wasn’t worthy. Clara was sure this had to be some sort of miracle but then thought better of it. This was no stroke of luck—this was Vanessa.

*************

Vanessa made sure to text Clara in the morning on Sunday. The doctor said it was fine for Clara to sleep off any remaining rohypnol on her own, but it still worried Vanessa. Clara had sent a brief reply politely thanking her for checking in and assuring her that she was okay.

Vanessa wanted to support her more somehow but also didn’t want to overstep. She tried to make it clear that when she texted “let me know if you need anything” that it was not just an empty gesture. Hopefully Clara could tell she was sincere.

That’s why Vanessa was so happy to receive a spontaneous text from her the next day. She was even happier when Clara told her that she would be pressing charges against Reggie. Vanessa was no expert in criminal law, but with all of the injuries and evidence Clara had, in addition to four credible witnesses, there was certainly a good chance he would be convicted.

Melanie Springs was one of Vanessa’s colleagues at Fordham. She specialized in sex crimes and was probably the best in all of the city. When Vanessa had been in the waiting room of the ER, she had texted Melanie. Vanessa provided very little detail, referring to Clara as “a friend” who might need Melanie’s services and asking about her availability. Melanie said she would be happy to represent her friend if they decided to pursue an arrest.

Vanessa replied to Clara's spontaneous text and asked how she felt about involving a lawyer. As soon as she got Clara’s permission, Vanessa made the call to Melanie. They exchanged pleasantries before Vanessa proceeded.

“So it turns out my friend is making a report and she said she’d like to speak with you,” Vanessa explained.

“Okay, great,” Melanie responded eagerly.

“I know she’s planning on going to the station with her advocate at 3pm,” Vanessa said, “You wouldn’t happen to be available, would you?”

“I have a meeting with the firm this afternoon but I can reschedule that,” Melanie thought aloud, “Which precinct? Do you know?”

“Whichever one covers Richard Rogers,” Vanessa sighed.

“This happened at Lin’s work?” Melanie asked, shocked.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Vanessa replied.

“Wow, and you’ve been encouraging her to press charges?” Melanie asked.

“Well, yes, if she wants to, of course,” Vanessa said, confused.

“Most high-profile people will pay to have workplace stuff like this buried, worried about the bad press,” Melanie explained as her tone shifted to pleasant relief, “I’m so glad you and Lin are different.”

“Poor thing has been through enough,” Vanessa replied, “She deserves justice.”

“You know I’ll do everything I can to get it,” Melanie said.

“I told her you’re coming for a consultation, but hopefully she’ll want you to represent her. If she asks about costs, just tell her you’re taking this case pro bono,” Vanessa said, “Lin and I will cover all expenses.”

“Are you and Lin close with her?” Melanie asked, taken aback by their generous financial support.

Vanessa chuckled.

“Honestly, not really. She’s just…” Vanessa sighed, “I don’t know, maybe you’ll see what I mean when you meet her. She needs us.”

“You really are restoring my faith in humanity right now, Vanessa Nadal,” Melanie laughed.

“I do my best,” Vanessa joked.

“Alright, I’ll see you both at 3?” Melanie confirmed.

“Yes, and thank you so much again, Melanie!”

“It’s my pleasure,” Melanie said, “See you soon.”

After hanging up, Vanessa quickly texted Clara the good news and then updated Lin.

*************

Clara decided she would be most comfortable if she could meet Melanie first before going to the station. Vanessa and Melanie met up at Clara’s dorm (good thing Vanessa had made note of where it was) and Clara brought them to her room.

Melanie could tell Clara was a little shy, as most of her clients were. She got more comfortable as time went on, eventually opening up entirely. This was the first time Vanessa had heard every detail of the attack. To say it was disturbing was an understatement. Lin hadn’t really talked about much of the details of his role in the situation and Vanessa’s heart warmed when Clara spoke of how well he had taken care of her.

When the time came to give her report to the police, Clara was terrified, but the three powerful women at her side strengthened her. Once the battery of questions had been completed the detective explained his next course of action.

“We’ll need the contact details of all of the witnesses,” he said.

Clara looked at Vanessa.

“I can write all of them down for you now,” Vanessa offered, pulling out her phone as the detective slid a pen and paper across the table to her.

“Is… Is he going to be arrested?” Clara asked quietly.

“Once I look over the evidence collected in the ER and see if the witnesses can verify your account of what happened, yes.”

“How long will that take?” Lola asked.

“A couple of days, assuming everything checks out,” the detective mused.

Clara tensed up. Two days? What if he found out he’s been reported? What if he came after her? How would she be safe?

_I will never be safe._

“Detective, that’s ridiculous,” Melanie replied, “You realize you’re directly endangering my client by letting him remain free.”

“Yes, which is why he will be arrested once I can verify what happened,” he said.

_I will never be safe._

“Verify?” Melanie repeated with disgust, “I’m sorry, if this were a robbery case you would already be sending an arrest warrant right now, not just sitting here doubting the validity of my client’s report.”

“Look, I’m just trying to do my job,” the detective said conclusively, beginning to get up.

_I will never be safe._

“Excuse me, this conversation is not over,” Melanie said with command.

“If I took the word of every person who comes in here, I would be arresting half of the city,” He said dryly.

_I will never be safe._

“Spare me the hyperboles,” Melanie scoffed, “It’s clear you are distrustful of my client solely because she is a woman reporting a sexual assault.”

“I am not distrustful of your client, I am thorough before taking away someone else’s personal liberties,” the detective replied.

_I will never be safe._

Clara inhaled so unevenly it caught the attention of everyone in the room. When had she started crying so hard? Vanessa, Lola and Melanie felt guilty for not noticing sooner, too caught up in the detective’s bullshit. Clara stood suddenly, her chair scraping loudly against the floor.

“I d-don’t… I’m sorry,” she dismissed herself as she ran out of the room.

Vanessa and Lola immediately got up and followed her.

Clara bolted down the hall and out onto the street. She just needed air.

It was too overwhelming to think about how this was only the beginning of all the times she would be questioned, doubted, and belittled. And that the police, the supposed authority on safety, weren’t going to keep her safe.

“Clara,” Vanessa had arrived beside her.

Without warning, Clara threw her arms around her.

“Cariño,” Vanessa murmured, holding her, “It’s going to be okay.”

“What if I can’t do this?” Clara said tearfully “This, the nightmares, the memories—god, I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You are doing something that is unimaginably difficult,” Lola said, “but you’re _still_ doing it. That’s how I know you can.”

“And we’re all here for you,” Vanessa reminded her, “Me, Lola, Melanie… Not to mention Lin, Daveed, Chris and Jonathan.”

“Really?” Clara asked, a bit surprised.

Vanessa realized she had never really mentioned her correspondence with all the guys.

“Oh yes, of course,” Vanessa nodded definitively, “They’ve been asking about you non-stop. They’re ready to go to bat for you any day.”

“I don’t think he believes me,” Clara said quietly, referring to the detective.

“ _We_ all believe you, Clara,” Lola assured her, “We have not a single doubt and we are here to support you through this, no matter how hard it gets.”

Melanie joined them outside.

“God, what an asshole,” Melanie remarked, “I’m so sorry Clara. I’m still confident the arrest will be made once all of this is reviewed, there’ll just be a small delay, okay?”

“Thank you,” Clara replied. She loved Melanie’s fierceness. “and thank you so much for coming to help today.”

“Clara, I would be honored to represent you if— _when_ this goes to trial,” Melanie offered.

“I truly wish you could,” Clara replied, formulating a polite reply to explain her financial situation, “But I’m a college student so I’m really working with a small budget.”

“I would consider it… pro bono,” Melanie explained, glancing at Vanessa.

Clara was at a loss for words.

“What?” Clara squeaked out, tears filling her eyes again. This was too good to be true. She must have misheard her.

“I want to represent you pro bono,” Melanie assured her.

Clara covered her mouth with her hand as a new kind of tears poured from her eyes.

“Are you sure?” Clara double-checked, still finding this whole moment unreal.

“Yes,” Melanie smiled with a little chuckle, “I’m sure.”

Clara started crying a bit harder.

“Aw honey, can I give you a hug?” Melanie asked.

Clara nodded and Melanie embraced her.

“Thank you,” Clara sniffled.

“You are incredibly welcome. I wish I could make promises about how all of this will turn out, but I can promise you I am going to fight so hard for you, Clara,” Melanie vowed as she pulled away.

“We all will,” Vanessa added.

“Honestly, I don’t know how to thank you,” Clara said, “I don’t deserve all of this.”

“You deserve good things,” Lola affirmed.

“Seriously, I think the universe owes you a couple at this point,” Vanessa said sympathetically.

Clara took a moment to collect herself and Lola (fully stocked, as always) handed her a couple of tissues

“What do you think, do you want to head back to your dorm?” Lola asked.

Clara nodded in agreement.

They all headed to the subway station. As Lola spoke with Clara, Vanessa and Melanie walked behind.

“Thank you so much, Melanie,” Vanessa said, “I know it probably wasn’t the most ethical thing to make you lie—”

“Oh, I wasn’t lying,” Melanie interrupted, “I’m not taking money from either of you.”

“Melanie!” Vanessa exclaimed.

“Well, I knew if I told you that I would take it pro bono you would’ve said no and insisted!” Melanie said.

“This was a 1st degree, pre-meditated plan?!” Vanessa joked.

“I guess you could say that,” Melanie laughed before adding, “And god, I see what you mean about her, too. Special kid for sure.”

“ _Right?_ ” Vanessa said with enthusiasm.

“Does she not have any family?” Melanie asked, “Or just didn’t want to involve them?”

“Well, I guess that’s more her story to tell, but for all intents and purposes—she doesn’t have a family anymore.”

“She’s lucky to have you, Vanessa,” Melanie sighed, “truly, she is.”

**A/N: We stan Melanie. Everything is looking hopeful for Clara... Or is it?**

**Please leave a comment if you can spare a moment. They feed my soul and keep me going <3**


	6. Chapter 6

When Vanessa arrived back home, she found Lin sitting beside Sebastian’s highchair, feeding him his dinner. She told him about how it went—and that Reggie was still a free man at the moment.

“The detective really did a number on Clara and then to end it like that…” Vanessa said as she sat down at the table.

“V, that’s awful,” Lin said as he scooped another spoonful, “How is there not enough already to arrest him?!”

“The detective said something about being ‘thorough before taking away someone’s liberty’ or whatever,” Vanessa relayed.

“How did Clara take it?” Lin asked.

“Not well,” Vanessa sighed, “And this is just the beginning of this kind of bullshit for her. Imagine a whole trial.”

“Well, at least she’ll have Melanie to defend her,” Lin considered.

“True, she is amazing,” Vanessa agreed, “She didn’t let the detective slide either without calling him out on the absurdity of it all.”

“Do you think they’ll call any of us tonight?” Lin asked.

“I doubt it,” Vanessa scoffed, “He didn’t seem to be in any rush.”

“I’ll let the guys know to keep their phones on them.”

The next day, 1:30pm rolled around and Lin still hadn’t heard from the detective. He checked with Daveed, Chris, and Jonathan—none of them had been contacted yet either. When he finally got the call at 2pm, he took matters into his own hands.

“Me and the _three_ other witnesses are all going to be in the same place in a couple of hours, so you can come interview all of us,” Lin pushed.

“Normally I’d prefer to interview each of you here at the precinct,” the detective deliberated.

“That’s nice,” Lin flattened, “But we’ll be seeing you at the Richard Rodgers theater in… 2 hours.”

“I guess that can be arranged,” the detective reluctantly gave in.

“I’m glad we agree on something,” Lin said coldly, “Is there anything you need us to bring?”

“Photo ID,” the detective replied.

“Excellent, we will see you soon.”

Lin let out an irritated sigh when he hung up, needing to release a little of his anger. He sent a text.

 **Lin  
** Detective is coming to Richard Rogers at 4pm. Bring photo ID. All of you free?

 **Daveed**  
Yep

 **Chris  
** Jesus Christ finally. I’ll be there.

 **Jonathan  
** Of course

When they all arrived at the theater, they gathered in Lin’s dressing room. Hardly anyone was at the theater yet, just a couple people from the tech department. It was so empty, the house seemed to produce its own bare and vacant sound.

“Vanessa said this detective was a real piece of work,” Lin warned.

“Oh great,” Chris said, “At least we got Reggie off the streets.”

Lin froze. He did not want to be the bearer of bad news, especially not to Chris.

“He actually hasn’t been arrested yet,” Lin said hesitantly.

“What?” Daveed screeched.

“The detective said he had to interview witnesses and look at the evidence from the ER first,” Lin supplied the answer to the unasked question.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Chris yelled at no one in particular.

“Honestly, homicide has never been more appealing,” Daveed said with his head in his hands.

“Is Clara doing okay?” Jonathan asked.

“Vanessa said she didn’t take it very well,” Lin replied uncertainly.

“Of course not!” Chris exclaimed, “This piece of shit is still roaming the streets after she trusted the police to protect her!”

“Fuck the police, man,” Daveed said quietly as he shook his head in disappointment.

Not ten seconds later, there was a knock on the door and two detectives entered, summoning Jonathan to be interviewed first.

******

“So you were last to enter the room, then?” The detective asked.

“Yes, I was in the doorway when Chris and Daveed pulled him off of her,” he confirmed.

“So Chris and Daveed obstructed your view of what was occurring?” The detective questioned further.

“I… What?” Jonathan shook his head, “It was very clear what was occurring.”

“But there were two people blocking your view of Reggie and Clara, correct?”

Jonathan dropped his arms in exasperation. “I guess,” he said caustically.

****

“Do you know why she originally entered the closet with him?” The detective asked.

“No,” Daveed answered with a shrug, wiping away a tear that had fallen, “I don’t see how that matters anyway.”

“Just looking for what exactly her intentions were,” the detective replied.

“Does it make a difference what her ‘intentions’ were if it ended with her screaming for him to stop while he continued?” Daveed retorted, losing his patience and a couple more tears, “Consent can be withdrawn, you do know that, right?”

“Mr. Diggs, please,” the other detective gestured for him to calm down.

****

“Is it possible that she heard you all coming down the hallway?” The detective suggested, “And to avoid embarrassment, she acted as though what was happening was non-consensual?”

Lin stared at him dumbfounded for a moment.

“Excuse me?” Lin asked in a small voice.

“Is it possible?” The detective repeated.

“I act for a _living_ ,” Lin drew out his words in a low voice, infuriated, “She was not ‘acting.’ She was _targeted_ , _drugged_ , and _assaulted._ ”

****

“So you punched him in the face, long after he was pulled away from Clara?”

“Long after is a stretch, it was directly after,” Chris replied matter-of-factly, “He was blocking our exit and was a threat to all three of us.”

“Did you see him with a weapon?”

“No,” Chris replied.

“So you assaulted him when he posed no threat to your lives?”

“His _existence_ was a threat to Clara’s life, to any woman’s life, actually,” Chris spat, before being overcome by disgust, “God, don’t you have a mother, or wife or… or just any woman you’ve viewed as a fucking human being?!”

****

Tensions were beyond high when the detectives finally left. Lin and the guys blew off some steam, ranting to each other about the questions they were asked, the detective’s tone, and the worst part: that Reggie still would not be arrested.

“Honestly, just because the evidence kit hasn’t been ‘processed’ yet?!” Jonathan recounted.

“What the fuck is there to process?!” Daveed added, “We were all there!”

“Didn’t he meet her?!” Chris asked incredulously, “It’s pretty easy to tell she got the shit beat out of her! How is that not ‘physical evidence?’”

“You always hear horror stories like this,” Lin shook his head, feeling a bit more distant than enraged, “You never think you’ll witness one though.”

****

Clara was glad she finally decided to use her doctor’s note. All of her professors seemed unbothered when she alerted them that she would be absent for the rest of the week. It was easy enough to keep up with the work since assignments were posted online.

It was getting close to midnight and she was hungry. She decided to pop down to the lounge to get something from the vending machine. Clara grabbed her purse, slid on her pair of fuzzy moccasins, and added a hoodie to her sweatpants and tee outfit. She got on the elevator and made her way to the lounge. She spotted a familiar looking girl, sitting with her laptop in front of her. The girl glanced up and made eye contact.

“Hey, you’re Clara, right?”

Clara nodded with a smile.

“Hi, I’m Patty,” the girl introduced, “I think we take stage management fundamentals together.”

“Yeah, with Dr. Peterson,” Clara confirmed.

“Are you doing okay?” Patty asked with genuine concern, gesturing to her eye, “I’m guessing that’s why you weren’t in class today.”

“Oh, I’m okay,” Clara replied, “but yeah, the doctor wanted me to take a few days off. I’ll be back Monday though.” Clara was kind of touched that Patty noticed she was gone.

“That’s good,” Patty said, “You didn’t miss out on much today. Did you see the assignment we have due next week?”

Clara was incredibly relieved that Patty didn’t ask any more questions about her injury. They started talking about assignments, what they thought of their professor and classmates.

Twenty minutes, a snicker’s bar, and a pleasant conversation later, Clara decided to turn in.

“I’m going to head to bed too,” Patty said as she packed up her laptop, “Alright, see you around Clara, hope you feel better!”

“Thanks, talk to you later!” Clara replied happily.

Clara proceeded back up to her room, happy to have had some normal social interaction. Patty was super sweet.

Clara turned the key in her door and entered, spotting a piece of paper on her floor. Her brows furrowed—she didn’t remember it being there when she left. She approached it, very gingerly lowering her sore body down to pick it up.

She read the handwritten note before even touching it:

“You’re going to ruin my whole life, Clara. Don’t do this _.”_

She jumped up, backing away from the slip of paper. This couldn’t be happening. Had he been here? Was he _still_ here? She reached behind herself, fumbling for the doorknob, twisting it and bursting out into the hallway. She looked around, seeing no one, and sprinted to the stairwell.

_He knows where I live. I have to get out of here._

Seven flights of stairs later, she emerged in the lobby and flew outside. The sound of the street reached her ears, though it all seemed distant. She searched around, trying to find a safe place to go and scanning for any sign of him. It was so late, nothing was open, where would she go? The bright red 24 hour symbol next to the Walgreens sign spoke to her like a beacon and she made it her destination.

_He knows where I live._

She tried to focus on the pavement in front of her, but her mind had other plans, driving memories in her eyes.

_I will never be safe._

She was crying so hard she could barely breathe. She needs something, anything, to bring her back to this street corner and out of her memories. She pulls out her phone.

******

Vanessa was returning to her bedroom after checking on Sebastian. Lin was in the bathroom brushing his teeth with the door ajar, the light cutting a bright stripe in their dimly lit bedroom. As Vanessa got in bed, her phone on the nightstand began to ring. It was awfully late for anyone to be calling. She looked at the screen and saw it was Clara. Her stomach sank.

“Clara?” Vanessa answered quickly. This caught Lin’s attention.

“Vaness--” Clara sputtered through tears.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Vanessa asked as she stood up, beginning to walk out into the hallway for some privacy.

“Vanessa,” was still all Clara could manage, desperately clinging to the idea of her.

“I’m here. I need you to take a deep breath, okay?” Vanessa said, “Take a deep breath in.”

Clara manages a gasp.

“He was here,” Clara exhaled in a fearful whisper.

“You’re safe, Clara,” Vanessa started to reassure her, assuming Clara had experienced another nightmare.

“No, no!” Clara tried frantically to explain, but couldn’t find the words, “He left a-a note, in my room! I went to the lounge and w-when I came back…”

Vanessa’s eyes grew wider as she realized what had happened. She turned on her heel, rushing back to the bathroom to get Lin. She arrived in front of him, a bit panicked and his features fell, looking at her with questioning concern. It was clear something was very wrong. She put the phone on speaker.

“I have Lin here too sweetheart,” She updated her quickly, “What do you mean he was there? In your dorm?”

Lin repeated Vanessa’s exact expression, his eyes growing.

“I was only gone a half an hour, when I came back, he’d l-left me a,” Clara stuttered, “he left the note in my room. I-I don’t know how he, he knows where I live—”

The fear in Clara’s voice was gut-wrenching. Lin and Vanessa shared an entire conversation through a quick moment of eye contact:

_You going to go get her?_

_Yep. You stay here with Seb?_

_Yep. Be careful._

_I will, I promise._

Lin grabbed a pair of pants, pulling them on.

“Clara, where are you now?” Lin asked.

“I ran,” Clara explained, “I’m-I’m at a Walgreens on 14th Street and 4th Avenue.”

“I’m on my way right now,” Lin assured her, “Call the police and—“

“No!” Clara cried, “No, no, no, please I don’t want the police!”

Vanessa knew the detective had truly damaged Clara’s trust in the police and she didn’t blame her. If he had just sent the arrest warrant like Melanie said, none of this would be happening. Lin looked at Vanessa and she shook her head, telling him to let go of the idea. He sighed, hating the idea of not having the added layer of protection for Clara.

“Okay, okay,” he yielded, “Stay where a clerk or something can see you, okay? I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”

“I’m scared,” Clara choked out a sob in response.

The knife in Lin’s chest twisted

“I know, mija, I know,” Lin comforted her, “I’m on my way.”

“and I’m going to stay on the phone with you,” Vanessa said, “I’m right here.”

“Okay,” Clara sniffled. Clara hid herself away in the aisle farthest from the door and closest to the register. That way, she was hidden from the door while just one step from being in clear view of the cashier. The relief of knowing Lin was coming was at odds with the dread of having to be alone for another 15 minutes.

Lin had put on a sweatshirt and gave Vanessa a quick kiss before hurrying out the door.

Vanessa did her best to keep Clara calm through the phone, but Clara’s anxiety wouldn’t let up.

When Lin arrived at the Walgreens, he barely waited until the taxi had come to a full stop before hopping onto the sidewalk and running inside.

Clara heard the automatic door whir open and someone enter quickly. The fast footsteps drew nearer. She backed up, feeling the shelves of the aisle against her back. She felt a flicker of a moment in her mind, feeling like she was being pinned down.

“Clara!” Lin called to her as he spotted her up the aisle.

Clara rushed forward and threw herself into his side. If Clara had any conscious mind, she would have found her behavior to be inappropriate, but the fear had taken over and as soon as she spotted safety, she clung to it. Lin was momentarily shocked, but then carefully put an arm around her shoulders.

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” He tried to soothe her. He heard the distant sound of Vanessa’s voice, realizing she was still on the phone in Clara’s hand. He gently took it from Clara’s weak fingertips. “I got her, V,” He said, glancing down at Clara, who was still attached.

“Good,” Vanessa sighed in relief, “Get home safe mi amor.”

“’Kay,” Lin said, hanging up and pocketing her phone for safekeeping. “Clara?” He asked gently.

She just sobbed in response, her face hidden against him.

“Clara, you’re okay, I’m right here,” he said gently, “Let’s get you someplace safe okay?”

She seemed to come to her senses a bit more at that point, quickly releasing him with a nod. She wiped her eyes and kept her gaze fixed on the ground.

“Come on,” He directed softly, hovering a hand behind her to guide her outside. From the edge of the sidewalk, he hailed a cab. Once in the back of the taxi, sitting next to Lin and behind the male driver, Clara’s mind began to race. She was acutely aware of her heart squirming in her chest.

 _Why did I get in this taxi alone with him? Something bad could happen. Everyone would blame me for being alone with him. No one would believe me anyway. It would be all my fault. Again. I will never be safe_.

Lin glanced at Clara, noticing that she was shaking. Her breath was quickening.

“Clara?” Lin’s concerned voice pulled Clara out of her own head, “Are you okay?”

“I…I need to call Vanessa,” Clara stuttered, frantically feeling her pockets for her phone.

“Okay, okay,” Lin tried to calm her while quickly producing her phone from his own pocket, “Phone’s right here.”

She took it in her trembling hands, managing to make the call.

Lin could clearly tell that Clara was afraid of him. Maybe in another context he would be offended by being grouped with men like Reggie, but right now, he understood. It broke his heart, but he understood.

He decided to shoot Vanessa a text as he scooted closer to the window, wanting to give Clara as much space as possible.

“Clara are you okay?” Vanessa’s concerned voice sounded through the phone.

“Yeah, I’m in the taxi with Lin,” Clara replied.

“Okay,” Vanessa started but was interrupted by the phone buzzing against her ear. She checked the screen, reading Lin’s text.

**Lin**   
_I think she’s afraid to be alone with me_

“Are you nervous about being alone with Lin?” Vanessa asked sweetly.

“Mhm,” Clara confirmed, trying to suppress more tears.

“Cariño, you know Lin would never hurt you, right?” Vanessa asked gently.

“I know,” Clara replied, her voice becoming smaller, “but I didn’t think… _he_ would either, and he did.” She suddenly felt guilty. She was insinuating that Lin was capable of being a predator to his own wife. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I know it’s stupid,” Clara rushed.

“It’s okay, Clara,” Vanessa reassured her, “it makes perfect sense that you’re struggling with this.”

“I’m so sorry,” Clara repeated in a whisper.

“Sweetheart, I’m not taking this personally and neither is Lin,” Vanessa explained, “I promise, it’s okay to be scared. Why don’t we just talk, alright?”

“Okay,” Clara exhaled, trying to refocus.

“What place would you like to visit if you could go anywhere in the world?” Vanessa asked.

“Guadalajara,” Clara replied.

“Interesting,” Vanessa said, “Why there?”

“Es dónde creció mi abuela,” she replied. _It’s where my Grandma was born._

Lin looked over for a moment, surprised to hear her speaking Spanish.

“¿Hablas español con fluidez?” Vanessa asked. _Do you speak Spanish fluently?_

"Creo que sí, casi,” Clara replied. _I think so, almost._

“¡No sabía eso!” Vanessa exclaimed. _I didn’t know that!_

“Menos mal que no hablaste mierda sobre mí en español,” Clara joked weakly. _It’s a good thing you didn’t talk shit about me in Spanish._

“Nunca haría eso,” Vanessa smiled. _I would never do that._

Clara continued their conversation in varying levels of Spanish, English and Spanglish until she and Lin had arrived at the front door of his apartment. By this point, Clara was spent, barely processing what was happening in front of her. Lin unlocked the door and led her inside where Vanessa was waiting, hanging up her phone.

If Clara was in a clearer state of mind, she might have appreciated how gorgeous the apartment was, thanked them for having her, or complimented them on their home. But she was hardly there.

Vanessa approached her.

“I have the guest bedroom set up for you,” Vanessa said softly.

“Thank you,” Clara replied with a tinge of shame and then turned to Lin, “Really, thank you.”

“Of course,” Lin gave her a sad smile.

“I’m really sorry,” Clara added quietly, examining her moccasins.

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Lin said seriously.

“We’re so glad you’re safe,” Vanessa nodded, “Come on, I’ll show you the guest room.”

Clara followed her down the hall and opened one of the doors, revealing an adorable, welcoming room. Vanessa explained that she had left towels and a change of pajamas in case she wanted to shower. She pointed out the remote and TV in case she wanted a bit of distraction too. Clara nodded numbly. Vanessa was apologizing in advance for any noise from Seb when she paused.

“It’s so late, you must be tired, huh?” Vanessa said as both a question and suggestion.

Clara just nodded again.

Vanessa looked at Clara—broken, exhausted Clara. She just wanted to hug her, protect her from everything.

“Do you need anything else?” Vanessa asked, “Do you want to talk at all?”

“No thank you, I think I just want to try to sleep,” Clara said politely with a smile that came nowhere near her eyes.

“Okay,” Vanessa replied, “My phone is on high so feel free to text me if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Clara said, barely able to make eye contact with her before looking back down at the floor.

“Goodnight, cariño,” Vanessa called softly as she walked out.

“Goodnight,” Clara replied as Vanessa shut the door.

Clara stood in the middle of the room for about five minutes, her thoughts racing so fast her mind felt entirely empty. When she finally brought herself back from her vacant trance, she decided to lay down. The bed was comfortable and she was _tired—_ just a whole new level of exhausted from the fear, panic, sprinting… Normally the fear of having nightmares would keep her awake, but she slipped away quickly into sleep.

**A/N: Lin and Vanessa continue to be supportive af. So, I decided against hearing an entire interview from one of the guys. It was just too much for me. I put in relevant snippets from each of them instead. I have to mention that the way the detective is questioning them is a lot more like what you'd hear in court from the defendant's lawyer. When I was questioned by detectives, it was more fact focused and they didn't try to suggest much like the detective in this fic did. Since I won't be covering much court content in this story, I figured I would put in that type of discourse as part of the police interview. Anyway, stay tuned for another chapter, which will include quite a bit of angst as well.**

**Ps. There is, in fact, a 24 hour walgreens on the corner of 14th and 4th which is near NYU housing**

**Pss. Please leave a comment, they keep me strong and validated.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at how the next morning unfolds for Clara and the Mirandas.

**A/N: Sorry to delay this chapter so long. I wrote a whole chapter then realized I wanted one to go in between. So hopefully the next update will be speedy because it's almost done :)**

Vanessa woke up to the sound of Sebastian fussing over the baby monitor. She rolled over in the bed to see Lin stirring as well.

“What time is it?” Vanessa groaned, sitting up begrudgingly.

Lin’s hand emerged from under the covers and grabbed his phone from the bedside table.

“6:30,” he replied after glancing at the screen.

“I have to call off from work,” Vanessa thought aloud.

“You sure?” Lin asked, too tired to think through the logic for himself.

“Yeah, I mean it’s not safe for Clara to go back to her dorm and I highly doubt she would be comfortable staying alone with you,” Vanessa explained.

Lin made a noise of acknowledgment. “This is why you’re the smart one.”

“Let me go grab Seb,” Vanessa said as she departed from the room.

She took him out of his crib and changed him before heading back to her bedroom. Lin looked up from his phone.

“There’s my little man!” Lin said as Vanessa brought him over. He took Seb and placed him on the bed next to them as Vanessa climbed back in on the other side.

This was their little morning ritual, both Lin and Vanessa’s favorite part of the day: relaxing in bed for a little while, lazily entertaining and playing with Sebastian before having to get up to make breakfast.

Vanessa typed up a quick email to send explaining that something came up and that she wouldn’t be in today.

“There,” she declared as she pressed send, “All set with work.”

“What do you think today will be like?” Lin asked.

“I have no idea,” Vanessa sighed, “I suppose we’ll talk to Melanie first and see what she says. I’m assuming we’ll have to go to the precinct again.”

“Ugh,” Lin groaned at the idea of Clara facing that detective again.

“Yep,” Vanessa agreed.

After a short pause, Lin spoke up.

“Am I… Am I doing something…” Lin searched for a word, “Wrong?”

“What do you mean?” Vanessa looked at him quizzically.

“I feel like you always know what to say to Clara and that I just…don’t,” Lin explained, “I totally understand she’s uncomfortable around men right now, but there’s nothing I’m doing that’s making it worse, right?”

“Oh no, mi amor,” Vanessa reassured him, “I really don’t think it has anything to do with what you’re doing or not doing. I would definitely say it's a response to the trauma, not you.”

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure I’m not being insensitive,” Lin said.

“Lin-Manuel, you are the most sensitive, caring man I have ever met,” Vanessa smiled, “Clara told us all about what you did for her that day. You helped her more than you will ever know.”

******

Clara startled as she woke up, unsure of where she was for a moment. It all came back to her and the next thing she noticed was the amount of pain radiating from her face and back. She hadn’t taken her pain medication last night and she didn’t have it with her now either.

She sat up and immediately folded over, the throbbing in her head too intense. The bruises on her back were sore and she felt soreness settling in her legs as well, from running, perhaps? They must have Advil here, Clara just needed to ask them for some.

What time was it anyway? The daylight peeking through the curtain was her only hint. She looked around for her phone, but realized it was still in her pocket. She had never changed last night. She pulled it out and saw that it was 7:30am.

Were Lin and Vanessa awake yet? Was it appropriate to text Vanessa this early? What if they were trying to sleep in since she had kept them up late last night? Surely they must be up though, with a toddler in the house. But was Vanessa even home? It was a weekday—doesn’t she go to work?

Clara’s inner social anxiety monologue rambled on a bit longer, then she heard noise coming from down the hall. Someone was definitely awake, and it sounded like they were in the kitchen. She decided it would be okay to send a text.

**Clara**   
_Hi Vanessa, I hope I’m not waking you, but I was wondering if you have any Advil?_

Almost immediately, Vanessa began typing.

**Vanessa  
** _Yes, hang on a second_

A few moments later, Clara heard a light knock on her door.

“Come in,” She responded weakly.

Vanessa entered the room with a bottle of Advil and a glass of water in hand. She looked at Clara with a touch of concern—Clara was in rough shape. Sure, the bedhead didn’t help, but even aside from that, she looked to be in distress.

“Good morning,” Vanessa said as she set the pills and glass down on the nightstand.

“Morning, thank you so much,” Clara replied then joked gratefully, “You didn’t have to provide room service.” Even just moving towards the items beside her caused her to wince.

“I think I did,” Vanessa chuckled, noting her pained expression.

“I missed my pain medication last night and I’m due for another dose right now too,” Clara said miserably.

“Oh god, we have to get your meds over here asap then,” Vanessa mused, “Maybe I can send Lin to your dorm to go get them…”

“I go to NYU’s _theater_ school. If you sent Lin there, he’d be eaten alive by theater kids,” Clara giggled.

“Very true,” Vanessa agreed before changing the subject, “Do you think we could call Melanie together and update her about last night?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Clara nodded.

“Why don’t you come out once you’re ready and we can eat and give her a call,” Vanessa suggested.

“Don’t you have to go to work?” Clara asked.

Vanessa didn’t want to make Clara feel bad about calling off work, so she told the semi-truth.

“Nope, I don’t have work today,” Vanessa replied easily. It wasn’t a lie.

“Okay,” Clara said, before shifting and speaking quietly, “Is Lin home too?”

Vanessa sensed that Clara was a little uneasy.

“Yes, he is,” Vanessa nodded, “Do you want me to see if maybe he has a couple errands to run?”

“Oh no, no,” Clara quickly replied, mortified by the idea of kicking the man out of his own home, “I just didn’t want to be surprised, that’s all.”

At times, Clara felt that Lin was the epitome of safety but at others she saw him as a threat. In reality, Lin had never been anything but kind, generous, and quite literally heroic. It was frustrating to swing on this pendulum of distrust when his intentions were so clearly benign; it made her feel broken.

Vanessa left to let Clara clean up and change. Clara took a quick shower and put on the clothes Vanessa had put out the night before. Clara took the glass of water and advil and ventured to the kitchen. It felt strange to walk out of the guestroom and wander down the hall. Who was she to just… walk around Lin-Manuel Miranda’s house like this?! In Vanessa’s clothes, no less.

She came upon the kitchen and found Lin feeding Sebastian and Vanessa at the counter cooking. It was so quaint she instantly felt out of place and didn’t want to interrupt. God, what was she doing, imposing on this perfect little family?

“Good morning,” Clara said meekly.

“Hey, good morning!” Lin smiled.

“Morning,” Vanessa added.

Lin and Vanessa were both concerned by Clara’s appearance. Seeing her clearly in the daylight now, her bruises and cuts were loud and angry. She looked beyond exhausted.

Clara handed Vanessa the bottle of Advil.

“Here, I figured I shouldn’t leave these out with the little guy around,” Clara looked at Sebastian with a small smile. Vanessa thanked her and put them away in one of the cabinets.

“Your home is so lovely,” Clara said. She desperately was trying to be a good, normal houseguest—though the circumstances were far from normal. The elephant in the room was oppressively large.

_Hi, it’s me, your uninvited houseguest—I’m here because I, an acquaintance you met three days ago, called you in the middle of the night screaming and crying because the crazy man who assaulted me in the closet of our workplace is now after me and you had to come pick me up from a Walgreens in midtown at 1am._

Clara wanted the earth to swallow her whole.

Vanessa and Lin wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to pretend to be okay.

“Thank you,” Vanessa smiled, “Here, sit down.”

Clara sat down slowly, trying to ease her aching body into the kitchen chair.

Sebastian was clearly excited to have someone new joining the table. He began to bounce and gave a very loud, happy screech.

“Debes ser Sebastián,” Clara giggled. _You must be Sebastian._

“Di ‘¡Hola Clara!’” Lin coaxed Seb, encouraging a small wave. _Say ‘hi Clara!’_

The toddler was so cute, Clara’s heart soared. He was a spitting image of both of his parents, too. Vanessa placed a plate down for herself, Lin, and Clara before taking a seat as well.

“Oh my goodness, he’s so adorable,” Clara exclaimed.

“Incredible that he shares any genetics with Lin,” Vanessa joked.

Lin made an exaggerated expression of shock and dismay.

“Sorry, we can’t all be gorgeous lawyer scientists, okay?!” Lin said in a mock-bitter voice.

Clara enjoyed their married-couple banter. _Is this what normal parents are like?_ She wondered.

“Hopefully something on there is okay,” Vanessa said, gesturing at the plate of food, “I wasn’t sure if you were vegetarian or gluten-free or anything.”

“Oh no, I’m an equal opportunity food eater,” Clara replied, “This is great, thank you.”

They started eating but Clara couldn’t bring herself to take a bite before she:

“Um, I-I’m really sorry, about last night,” Clara clumsily spilled the words onto the table.

“Why?” Lin asked, almost in a casual fashion. It caught Clara off-guard.

“It was—it was late and,” Clara threw together an appropriate list of reasons, “and such an—an interruption. And dangerous and I wasn’t invited, and you barely know me and…”

“But it was an emergency,” Vanessa pointed out.

“You had no control over that,” Lin agreed.

“And I’m glad you called,” Vanessa said earnestly, “Really, I’m so happy we could help keep you safe.”

Their framing of the situation was quite… pleasant. She assumed that at the very least, she was an inconvenience to them, but that wasn’t the way they described it at all. Clara wondered if they truly meant it. It really seemed like they did. A twist of emotions caught in Clara’s throat.

“Thank you. If I didn’t have you, I don’t know what would have ha—” Clara felt tears choking her and couldn’t finish. _What would have happened?_

“Clara,” Vanessa said, putting a hand on top of Clara’s, “You don’t have to think about that. You had us. And you’re safe.”

Clara nodded gratefully.

At that moment, Clara suddenly felt a heavy, wet speck land on cheek.

“Seb!” Lin exclaimed.

Sebastian was flapping his hands and incidentally flicked a wet cheerio chunk, previously stuck to his fingers by drool, directly onto Clara’s face.

Lin and Vanessa looked at Clara expectantly as she wiped her face. Clara looked at the mystery substance, looked at Sebastian, and started laughing hysterically. Lin and Vanessa joined in, unable to restrain themselves any longer.

“Ew, Sebastian!”

Sebastian was completely oblivious to what was happening, only aware of the fact that everyone else at the table looked really happy, so he also laughed.

“I am _so_ sorry!” Vanessa said through giggles, passing Clara a napkin.

“Seb, you’re lucky you’re cute, buddy,” Clara chuckled.

Now that Sebastian had so conveniently lightened the mood, they continued with breakfast. Once they had finished, Lin excused himself, taking Sebastian with him.

“Alright, ready to give Melanie a call?” Vanessa asked.

Clara nodded.

“I texted her this morning to let her know something came up and that she needed to be updated, but I didn’t give any details,” Vanessa explained, “Do you want to talk to her on your own?”

“C-Can we do it together?” Clara asked hesitantly, “On speakerphone?”

“Of course,” Vanessa replied. She pulled up Melanie’s contact and called, putting it on speakerphone before placing it on the table.

“Hello?” Melanie picked up after a couple of rings.

“Hi Melanie,” Clara responded.

“Clara,” Melanie greeted her, “How are you doing?”

“I’m, um, I’m okay,” Clara replied.

“Vanessa told me I might be hearing from you,” Melanie said.

“Yeah, she’s right here,” Clara said.

“Hi Melanie,” Vanessa called out, leaning toward the phone a bit.

“Oh excellent, I have the both of you,” Melanie said, “So, what’s been going on?”

Clara paused, unsure of what to say. She glanced at Vanessa, who gave her a small reassuring smile.

Clara told her about the note.

“I don’t know how he even knows where I live, or which room is mine…” Clara trailed off.

“What time was it when this happened?” Melanie asked.

“Um, I’m not sure,” Clara looked at Vanessa.

“Let me check what time you called, hang on,” Vanessa said, picking the phone up off of the table and pulling up her recent calls. “12:23am is when you called me.”

“So, three or four minutes before that,” Clara approximated.

“And you didn’t see him at all, never made any contact with him?” Melanie verified.

“No,” Clara said, “I was only out of my room for 20 minutes. I don’t know if it was just a coincidence that I wasn’t in my room or if he had been watching me.” Clara was disgusted by the idea, beginning to become upset, “I was worried that he would be outside, waiting, I thought for sure he, he was going to—"

_Finish what he started._

She couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“This never should have happened. He should have been brought into custody days ago. I’m so sorry, Clara,” Melanie apologized. “Unfortunately, your next step is to contact the detective assigned to your case about this.”

Clara couldn’t help but audibly groan.

“I know, he’s awful,” Melanie agreed, “And I wish I could help but I’m in court all day today.”

“I’m off today so I’ll be here, Mel,” Vanessa interjected.

“Oh good, good,” Melanie sounded relieved, “Well the good news is that this does add another charge for him, tampering with a witness, and maybe stalking too if we can get the evidence for it. Do you know if your dorm has security cameras?”

“I think so,” Clara pondered, “at least at the entrance.”

“Excellent, mention that to the detective too,” Melanie instructed.

Melanie explained that officers will most likely go to her dorm room and collect the note. Clara was less than enthusiastic about dealing with more law enforcement but understood.

“Alright, well we’ll give the detective a call now,” Clara said.

“Sounds good. Stay strong Clara,” Melanie reminded her kindly, “We’re all on your team.”

“Thank you Melanie,” Clara replied gratefully.

“We’ll send you an update later,” Vanessa added, “Thanks Melanie.”

“Of course, talk to you later,” Melanie said.

“Bye,” Clara and Vanessa said as Clara ended the call.

Clara looked at Vanessa with a glowering look of dismay.

“Do you want to call him together?” Vanessa offered.

Clara nodded with a sigh.

_This should be fun.  
_

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next one is probably going to be a crazy one, so stay tuned.**


	8. Chapter 8

“Detective Broward,” A voice sounded through the phone.

“Hi detective, this is Clara,” She said hesitantly.

“Hi,” Detective Broward replied, “The evidence from the ER still hasn’t been processed, if that’s what you’re calling about.”

“Um, no, it’s not,” Clara started, already put-off by his presumption that she had called to pester him, “Something h-happened last night… that I need to tell you about… for the case?”

“Go on,” Detective Broward urged her.

“He—Reggie,” the name tasted horrible in her mouth, “Came to my dorm last night and left me a letter in my room, threatening me if I report him.”

“Okay, and this was a letter?” The detective asked, “You didn’t speak to him?”

“No, I wasn’t in my room,” Clara explained, “I found the letter when I came back.”

“And you found it inside your room?”

“Yes.”

“Did you leave the door unlocked?”

“No.”

“Did he break down the door then?”

“No.”

“So he slid it under your door?”

“I assume so.”

“And what exactly did the letter say?”

“It said ‘you’re going to ruin my whole life, Clara, don’t do this.’”

“But there was no actual threat written?”

“I guess not.”

“You guess?”

“I think having a man who brutally assaulted me show up at my dorm room at night when he shouldn’t have any idea where I live is pretty threatening.”

Vanessa raised her eyebrows, internally applauding Clara’s tenacity.

“Understood,” the detective murmured.

He went on to explain she would have to come to the precinct to make a formal report. 

They got ready to leave and headed out the door.

“Be careful,” Lin said earnestly to both of them as they left.

They got on the A train ( _you must take the A train_ , Clara could hear it being sung in her head) and found a couple of seats. Clara sat down, with quite a bit of difficulty from her sore body. Vanessa was reminded of how badly Clara needed her pain medication.

“How would you like to go about getting a few things from your dorm?” Vanessa asked.

“Well, I—I’m not sure where—if I’ll—” Clara fumbled.

They hadn’t really talked about where Clara would be staying tonight. Clara really wished she could stay with the Miranda’s, but they hadn’t extended an invitation, so she assumed she would be on her own once they were done at the precinct.

Vanessa assumed she would be staying with them until Reggie was arrested or Clara could at least move rooms.

“You know we would be happy to have you until it’s actually safe for you to go back, right?” Vanessa said, realizing they hadn’t discussed it.

“Oh,” Clara said, “Are—are you sure?”

“Of course!” Vanessa replied, “Unless you want to go back to your dorm?”

Clara automatically shook her head vehemently before she could stop herself. “I was just going to get a hotel or something,” Clara shrugged, her voice quiet and gaze averted.

“Then you’d be all by yourself. Please, stay with us. It’s free, you won’t be alone, and our security system is like Fort Knox,” Vanessa reasoned before quipping, “And Sebastian would insist!”

“Okay,” Clara gave in with a laugh, “But _only_ because Sebastian insists!”

“Excellent,” Vanessa smiled. If she was being honest, it was really a relief to have her under their roof. She wouldn’t have to worry. “So how should we get your stuff?”

Clara thought for a few moments and then remembered she and Patty had swapped numbers last night. “I think I have an idea,” she finally said, pulling out her phone.

**Clara**  
_Hi Patty, it’s Clara from stage management class!_

The service on the subway was spotty at best, but the message eventually sent and Patty replied soon after.

**Patty**  
_Hey Clara!_

**Clara**  
_Do you have any classes today?_

**Patty  
** _I’m in class right now for another hour and a half but then I’m done. Why?_

**Clara**  
_It’s kind of hard to explain, but would you be willing to do me a HUGE favor?_

**Patty**  
_Yeah of course! What do you need? Are you doing okay?_

**Clara**  
_Yes, I’m fine! I just need to get some things together for an overnight bag, but I’m not able to go to my room and pack myself. If the RA let you in, would you mind doing that? I can tell you what I need and where everything is and all that. Sorry, I know it’s a little weird. If you don’t have time, it’s okay!_

**Patty**  
_Sure I can do that. Are you sure everything is okay? Does this have something to do with what happened to your eye?_

Another message quickly followed before Clara could reply.

**Patty**  
_Sorry, that was nosy, you don’t have to answer that_

**Clara**  
_You don’t have to worry, I promise I’m okay and that everything is being dealt with. I can probably explain a bit more the next time we have a late night snack hang out :)_

**Patty  
** _Alright fair enough :) I’ll text you when I finish class and you can tell me what you need?_

**Clara  
** _That’s perfect. Thank you SO much Patty. For real, you’re a life saver!_

**Patty**  
_Happy to be of service! Ttyl_

“Okay, I think I have getting my stuff all taken care of,” Clara said, “A girl from one of my classes is going to help me out.”

“Excellent,” Vanessa approved. Once they reached their stop, they both exited and climbed the stairs, emerging in Times Square.

When they arrived at the precinct, Detective Broward and his partner interviewed Clara, allowing Vanessa to accompany her. This time around, the detectives seemed a little more engaged and a bit less cold. Clara was hopeful that they were putting together the pieces of the case and realizing just how wrong they were to be dismissive of her. That was quite a bit of wishful thinking, but it was nice to imagine.

Once the onslaught of questions ceased, the detectives left to go investigate Clara’s dorm. Clara was very relieved that she didn’t have to accompany them.

As they exited the precinct and stepped out onto the sidewalk, Vanessa observed Clara for a moment.

Clara was heightened—understandably anxious, after such a stressful interview. Her eyes darted around, quickly surveying and double, triple checking every bit of her surroundings. Fear was clearly settled in her eyes, rivaled only by fatigue. There was a subtle robotic movement in the way she carried herself that hinted at her physical pain as well. Vanessa frowned a little.

“Why don’t we get some coffee?” Vanessa offered. Clara agreed and Vanessa led them to a nearby coffee shop.

When they got their drinks, Vanessa chose a table in the back, far from the busy entrance. Maybe Clara would feel a little safer back here.

“How are you holding up?” Vanessa asked kindly after they took their seats.

“Okay, I guess,” Clara said, looking at the cup in her hands. She was focused on the warmth growing there, sinking into her fingers and palms. “Stressed.”

“I bet,” Vanessa replied sympathetically.

“I think I’d feel a lot better knowing he’s not out there anymore,” Clara added, nodding her head in the general direction of the street.

“What did you think of the detectives?” Vanessa asked.

“They seemed more receptive this time,” Clara noted.

“I agree,” Vanessa said, “Unfortunately, sometimes detectives aren’t very invested until they see how strong a case can be.”

“Whatever the reason, I’m grateful,” Clara replied, “Detective Broward was much more… palatable today than before.”

“About as palatable as a saltine at best,” Vanessa smirked.

“Yes, and even that is generous,” Clara chuckled, taking another sip.

They sat and talked for a while, allowing enough time for the detectives to finish up in her room before contacting Patty. Clara orchestrated getting the RA to let Patty into her dorm room and then packed with Patty via Facetime.

“I’m leaving to go to Union Square soon, do you want me to meet you somewhere to pick it up?” Patty offered.

“That would be awesome but are you sure you don’t mind?” Clara said.

“I’m headed out anyway,” Patty assured her, “How about the Starbucks 4th Ave and 15th?”

“Perfect.”

Once the handoff was made (not without Patty joking that the handoff was far too similar to a drug deal), Clara and Vanessa headed back to the Heights.

Clara’s first priority upon her return was taking a dose of her painkillers. Vanessa explained where to find the glasses in the kitchen before heading to the bathroom.

Clara entered the kitchen, setting her phone down on the counter, and finding a glass. She filled it with water and took one of the pills. Thank god. She placed the glass in the sink.

Then she heard a shuffling noise behind her and caught a glimpse of a male figure in the corner of her eye.

_Reggie._

She whipped around, every muscle in her body jolting as she gasped, hand clutching her chest.

“Sorry, sorry!” Lin immediately apologized, “It’s just me.”

_Oh. Right. Lin._

_The poor guy fucking lives here, Clara._

She let her conscious mind take in the sight of Lin, an empty sippy cup in one hand, Sebastian secured against him by the other. Clara deflated, relieved. It might have even been funny if she wasn’t scared half to death.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry,” Clara chuckled, “I didn’t see you there.”

“I didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” Lin replied apologetically.

“No, no, you’re fine,” Clara assured him.

Seb peeled himself away from Lin’s chest and squirmed, reaching out to Clara. Lin had to readjust to keep him secure. Seb continued to wriggle in Clara’s direction, some toddler babble escaping from him.

Clara couldn’t help but giggle at Seb’s clear curiosity, giving him a little wave.

“Do you want to…?” Lin started, shrugging his shoulder in her direction as he readjusted Seb again.

Clara’s eyes lit up.

“Can I?!” She asked with soft excitement, walking over to the two boys. Sebastian reached out more the closer she got.

“There you go buddy,” Lin said as he passed Seb to Clara.

“Hi there,” Clara said softly as she secured his warm little body against her own. Sebastian looked up at her with brown Disney eyes. He rested his head onto her shoulder, still studying her face, and gently grasped a lock of her hair.

Clara was about to explode. He was just too cute. She thought he might be afraid of her black eye, but it only seemed to intrigue him.

Lin watched them together for a moment. It was so nice to see a genuine smile from Clara. She had that sparkle in her eye that he had seen the first day they met. He then continued his mission to fill up the sippy cup.

Sebastian reached up to touch her face and Clara quickly covered his hand with her own, placing it back down to her shoulder. “No touch, cariño,” She hushed him.

Sebastian grabbed a bit of the fabric of her shirt and nuzzled against her.

“What a good listener you are,” Clara praised.

Vanessa entered the kitchen.

“Looks like Seb has made a new friend!” She said with a smile. It appeared as though Seb had known Clara his whole little life, very content in her arms.

“He’s such a cuddle bug,” Clara said, practically reduced to putty by the amount of oxytocin flowing through her.

“Not usually,” Lin said, placing a bottle of apple juice back in the fridge.

“Yeah, he doesn’t meet new people very often so he’s usually pretty shy,” Vanessa agreed before addressing Sebastian in a smaller voice, “I guess you just like her a lot, huh Seb?”

Sebastian looked at his mom and gave her a cute little grin before tucking his face back into Clara. Clara felt some odd sense of pride, like she was “the chosen one” or something of the sort.

“Don’t hurt yourself though,” Vanessa said to Clara, “I know you’re still sore. Come sit.”

Clara sat down at the dining room table, Sebastian still clinging to her in her lap. Lin gave the sippy cup to Seb, who was very busy looking up at his new friend, before retreating back to the kitchen.

“Oh my gosh, what are those on your sippy cup, Sebastian?!” Clara asked, pointing to the pattern on the cup.

“Train!” Sebastian chirped.

“Wow, trains?!” Clara exclaimed, “Those are so cool!”

Vanessa and Lin watched the exchange from the kitchen. Clara’s sweet small voice continued as Sebastian bounced happily, sitting backward in her lap to get a good look at her, hanging on her every word.

“Well that’s really fucking cute,” Lin sighed.

“It’s pretty ridiculous,” Vanessa agreed.

Clara’s phone started vibrating on the counter next to them. Melanie’s name came up on the screen.

“Clara, Melanie’s calling,” Vanessa said as she picked up the phone and walked it over to her.

“Oh, thank you!” Clara took the phone and answered, putting it on speaker and resting it on the table. “Hi Melanie.”

“Hi Clara,” Melanie greeted, “I have some good news for you.”

“Okay?” Clara replied, anticipation evident.

“I just got word that the arrest warrant was served. Reggie was taken into custody and he is now in jail.”

“Really?” Clara asked, tears immediately rising in her eyes.

“Yes,” Melanie confirmed, “He’ll have his first appearance in court tomorrow.”

Tears streamed down Clara’s cheeks. The relief was indescribable. She would be able to sleep safely tonight.

“Thank you,” Clara choked.

“This was all you, Clara,” Melanie replied, “You should be so proud of yourself. This is the first step.”

Vanessa placed a gentle hand on Clara’s shoulder. Clara looked up at her and smiled through her tears.

Vanessa saw Lin was crying in the kitchen.

Sebastian held onto Clara’s shirt to pull himself up, now standing unsteadily in her lap. He melted into her, arms wrapped around her neck.

“No,” he cooed.

Clara then realized—Sebastian thought she was crying because she was sad.

“Oh no bud, it’s okay!” Clara reassured with a sniffling chuckle, putting a hand on the back of his head, “These are happy tears!”

Sebastian picked up his head to look at her. Clara smiled as brightly as she could to reassure him. He seemed content with her answer, plopping back down in her lap. Clara looked at Vanessa with a look that screamed _can your kid be any fucking cuter?!_

“How did it go at the precinct today?” Melanie asked.

“Eh, it was okay. They had me file another report and then they went to my dorm,” Clara recounted.

“I’m glad it’s all taken care of,” Melanie said, “After court tomorrow, we’ll know how he’s pleading and we can talk about the next step. Does that sound okay?”

“Yes, that sounds perfect,” Clara replied, “Thank you so much for calling, I really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” Melanie said, “Take care!”

* * *

_It was happening all over again. Trapped in the closet with him, glass shattering, fighting and crying but getting nowhere._

_“Relax and enjoy, baby girl.”_

_This is when they are supposed to show up. Where are they? This is the part where the door is supposed to fly open, he is supposed to be thrown out into the hallway, and this is supposed to end. No one shows up. No one is going to stop him this time. It’s not going to end._

_No, no, no, no this can’t be happening. Not again. Not like this. Where were they? Daveed? Chris? Jonathan? Lin?_

“NO!” Clara shrieked then began to scream, the sound tearing out of her throat.

Lin and Vanessa jolted awake at the horrifying sound of Clara’s screams. Both of them were instantly out of bed.

“Go in Seb’s room, lock the door,” Lin hastily told Vanessa as he grabbed a heavy lamp off of the table. Vanessa darted straight to Seb’s room, doing exactly as he’d said.

There was no way anyone could have gotten into the apartment without setting off their security alarm, but it was better safe than sorry. They had planned many times for a situation like this; it came with the territory of fame.

Lin ran down the hallway, approaching the sound of Clara’s screams, trying to prepare himself for the worst. His heart was beating out of his chest and his extremities almost felt numb. He flung the door open and flicked on the lights, makeshift-weapon raised and ready to strike.

His eyes adjusted to the brightness and he took in what was in front of him: Clara, completely alone, standing in the corner of the room still screaming with her arms protectively covering her head.

“Clara?!” Lin said as he quickly double checked that they were alone, the lamp in his hand drifting down to his side. Once he was sure there was no threat, he set the lamp down.

Clara had stopped screaming but was hysterically sobbing now.

“It’s okay,” Lin tried, “It’s just me, you’re safe.”

He took a step towards her and she flinched, crying harder, backing up almost into the wall. For a moment he wasn’t sure what to do.

“Clara, mírame.”

The Spanish pronunciation of her name—the hard “a” in Clara swapped out for a soft “ah” sound—grabbed her attention. That was just how abuela would say it. It engaged her enough to understand the command that followed.

_Look at me._

She looked at him from between her arms which were still hovering in front of her face.

Spanish works, Lin thought to himself.

“Soy yo, Lin,” He said gently, “Es solo yo.”

_It’s me, Lin. It’s just me._

“¿L-Lin?” Clara asked between sobs, lowering her arms and hesitantly asking: “¿Estás aquí?”

_You’re here?_

“Sí, estoy aquí, es solo yo,” he assured her.

_Yes, I’m here, it’s just me._

“Where were you?!” Clara sobbed with a trace of anger, barely able to breathe, “Y-you never came!”

Lin was not sure what she was talking about, but he gathered that she had experienced a nightmare.

“It was just a nightmare, Clara,” Lin explained calmly, “Take a deep breath for me.”

“You never came,” Clara continued absently, too consumed by panic, “So he—he didn’t stop.”

Lin felt his heart stop in his chest. Tears filled his eyes as he realized what had happened in her dream.

“I’m here now, mija,” Lin assured her, “You’re safe.”

“He didn’t st-stop,” She repeated, her agony growing, gasping helplessly, “He didn’t stop!”

“Clara,” he started to try to deescalate her but was interrupted.

She let herself fall heavily into the wall with a significant thud. She was just too exhausted and overwhelmed. Her knees gave up and so did she.

“Clara!” Lin fought the urge to run over, not wanting to scare her.

“He didn’t—ow, fuck,” Clara squeaked quietly as she slid down to the floor, cradling her right arm. Her breathing slowed a bit, her gasps dissipating into smaller, shorter whimpers.

Lin had quickly and carefully made his way over, kneeling down next to her a few feet away.

“Clara?” Lin called softly. She seemed more coherent now, like the jolt of pain had reeled her back into reality. “Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”

She shook her head. “Sore,” she managed to explain. The cuts and bruises on her arm had gotten jammed against the wall. It brought a shock of pain but didn’t produce any damage, just making it sting and throb. “Fuck,” She squeezed her eyes shut and forced an exhale.

“You’re okay,” Lin tried to comfort her, “Take a deep breath.”

“I tried to get—but I couldn’t—” Clara went back to her dream, attempting to put a sentence together.

“Clara,” Lin said calm and clear, “It’s over now, I promise. You’re in Vanessa and I’s apartment, the alarm system is on, it’s a Tuesday night, and you’re safe. No one else is here except me, Vanessa and Seb.”

Clara nodded, trying to convince herself it was true.

“Why don’t I go get Vanessa,” Lin suggested, “Does that sound like a good idea?”

Clara nodded again.

“Okay, I’m just going to Seb’s room right down there,” he explained, pointing out to the hall, “And then Vanessa will be right back, okay?”

“Okay,” Clara replied quietly.

He made his way down the hall and knocked softly on Sebastian’s door.

“V, it’s just me,” Lin called to her, “Flounder.”

Their safe password: Flounder. (Again, fame necessitates that these types of plans are made). Upon hearing the word, Vanessa unlocked the door, holding Seb on her hip. She looked at the pained expression on her husband’s face.

“Nightmare?” Vanessa asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Lin replied soberly, “I think I scared the shit out of her even more, but I managed to talk her down a bit. Figured she’d want to talk to you.”

“I’m sure you did your best, mi amor,” Vanessa assured him.

“She fell against the wall and I think she hurt her arm,” Lin reported, “She said she was okay, but double-check for me?”

“Of course,” Vanessa nodded with clear concern, then began to hand over Sebastian, “Can you get him back to bed?”

“Come here kiddo,” He said delicately as he reached out and took the drowsy toddler, placing a kiss on his head.

“I love you,” Vanessa whispered as she departed.

“I love you too,” Lin replied softly.

Vanessa walked to the door of the guest room and entered. Clara sat on the floor quietly crying, not looking at Vanessa as she came in.

“Hey Clara,” Vanessa said gently, “Is it okay if I sit with you?”

Clara murmured an affirmative answer. Vanessa joined her, back resting against the wall. She thought back to what Lin had mentioned and noted how Clara was holding her right elbow.

“Did you hurt your arm, sweetheart?” Vanessa asked.

“No,” Clara replied, “Just sore.” She felt like she had to explain herself further. “I-I had a nightmare,” Clara offered as some sort of explanation of her behavior. It sounded even more juvenile as she said it out loud and she only felt more embarrassed

“That’s alright,” Vanessa said kindly, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Clara shook her head.

“Do you want to just sit here together for a little while?” Vanessa asked sweetly.

Clara nodded as her lip twitched.

Vanessa shifted a bit closer and Clara couldn’t help but reach out to her. Vanessa adjusted herself to put an arm around her and Clara leaned into her shoulder in response. Tucked against her, she just cried for a little while. Vanessa quietly reassured her on occasion.

When Lin had gotten Sebastian back to sleep, he came and peeked around the doorframe of the guest room, spotting the two still on the ground. Seeing them so perfectly tucked together, Clara trustingly drifting from consciousness in the arms of his incredible wife, Lin felt his heart skip a beat. Not wanting to interrupt, he silently gave Vanessa a questioning thumbs up and Vanessa responded with a nod and a sad smile. He mirrored the same expression in return and disappeared back down the hall.

Vanessa could see that Clara was dozing off.

“Clara?” She said just loud enough to get Clara to stir, “Do you want to try getting back in bed?”

Clara nodded, slowly preparing to get up. Both of them made their way onto their feet and Vanessa guided her back over to the bed.

“Tell Lin I’m sorry,” Clara said as she slid underneath the covers, “And I’m really sorry for waking you guys.”

“We’re used to being up half the night with Seb anyway, so at least tonight we got to shake things up a bit, right?” Vanessa joked, drawing a small smile out of Clara before she continued seriously, “Really though, it’s not a big deal. Don’t worry about it, cariño. Do you want the light off?”

Clara nodded and thanked her.

“Goodnight,” Vanessa said quietly, flipping the switch.

“Goodnight.”

**A/N: I hope this chapter was interesting! Vanessa is obviously the MVP in this fic, but I love that I have Lin in here just Trying His Best™. This fic really makes me feel like I'm walking around naked or something. I feel so vulnerable sharing all of this. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm just trying to make drama for the sake of the plot--this is real shit and I want to show what recovering from trauma really looks like, no frills. Those nightmares are a very real thing for me.**

**Please let me know what you thought if you have a moment. I get really insecure about this fic, so feedback really helps beat back those insecurity gremlins.**

**ps. there is indeed a starbucks on 4th and 15th, right across from Union Square :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Nightmare debacle ft. v soffft Lin, MVP Vanessa, and Clara going thru it. (Sorry I've left you guys hanging for so long! I've been ironing out the plot logistics of this fic so it took me forever to write this chapter.)

Clara stared up at the ceiling through the darkness, plotting how to escape the apartment. She couldn’t possibly face Lin and Vanessa in the morning, the shame was too much. Clara wanted to get her bag and run away.

She now cursed the apartment’s security alarm system that she previously appreciated—if only she knew how to deactivate it, she could just slip out undetected.

There was no way to leave.

Feeling stuck in the apartment just increased the helplessness that sat like a boulder within her chest. She struggled to accept that her fate was to stay put and deal with any fallout in the morning. There were no other options. The boulder became more like a growing scream, trapped somewhere between her lungs and throat. She wondered if it would eventually grow too big and escape her.

\---------

“How is she?” Lin said as Vanessa returned to bed.

“Okay, I think,” Vanessa replied, pulling the comforter over herself, “Hopefully she’ll be able to go back to sleep.”

Lin moved to be closer to Vanessa, finding her hand under the covers and lacing his fingers through hers. After a moment, he spoke.

“I love you,” he said quietly into the stillness, “So much.”

“I love you too,” Vanessa replied, searching his face curiously in the dim light. His brows were pinched together, and she made out a small twitch in his jaw. “Lin,” she spoke softly, “What’s wrong?”

Lin went to speak but instead only inhaled a shaky breath as tears collected in his eyes.

“Lin,” Vanessa delicately placed a hand on his chest.

He couldn’t help but shatter.

Vanessa curled up against him, holding him close. She knew this was coming. Lin hadn’t spoken a word of what he’d seen in that closet yet and he was far too sensitive of a person to just hold it in and move on.

“It-it’s my show,” Lin said in tears, “I let this happen. If we had background checked him more, or if we had… a rule against students being in the theater alone or… If we had just been more careful, this never would have happened. God we were so _stupid_.”

“Lin-”

“If we were more careful Clara would have been okay,” Lin continued, “W-we should have done something.”

“He’s a predator, Lin,” Vanessa said as she stroked his arm soothingly, “He would have found a way—predators find a way, it’s what they do.”

“I just wish I could’ve… I froze, I didn’t—thank god Daveed and Chris…” He shook his head in an attempt to shake off a fresh wave of tears but failed as he choked on another sob.

“You had a perfectly normal reaction,” Vanessa tried.

“She was so scared, V,” Lin explained, “She kept asking why he didn’t stop, and I couldn’t... All I could think about was how it never should have started at all. I-I wanted to kill him. I _want_ to kill him.”

Lin had never dealt with anger well because it was a rare occurrence for him. He was far too patient and understanding to encounter feelings of rage. Now he was trapped with it, unsure of how to cope.

“It’s okay to be angry,” Vanessa assured him, “You can be as furious as you want. He did something absolutely disgusting and unforgivable. He hurt someone you care about. He tricked everyone into trusting him. Be mad. It’s okay.”

“It feels _awful_ ,” Lin replied, “It feels so heavy and awful.”

“I know, mi amor,” Vanessa said as she wiped away some of his tears, “Emotions can be uncomfortable, but they can’t hurt you and they are temporary.”

Lin was quiet for a moment before there was a flicker of a somber smile on his lips.

“What?” Vanessa asked curiously.

“You sound like my mother,” he smirked sadly, sniffling with a wet laugh.

His psychologist mother. Of course.

“Hey, that’s pretty high praise,” Vanessa replied sweetly, running a hand through his hair. “It’s going to be okay, mi amor. It will take some time, but Clara will be okay too.”

Lin just gazed at her for a moment.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” Lin asked.

“I think you’ve mentioned it,” Vanessa toyed.

“In passing,” Lin agreed, playing along.

“Lin-Manuel, I love you so much,” Vanessa whispered.

“I love you too,” Lin replied.

\------

Clara had assumed that the morning after Lin had to come retrieve her from a Walgreens in the middle of the night would be the most awkward morning of her life. She was wrong. _This_ was the most awkward morning of her life.

She hadn’t slept, too scared of what her mind would conjure if she did. She stood in front of the guestroom door for at least ten minutes, simply unable to bring herself to open it.

Suddenly there was a thud on the other side of the wood. Clara jumped back, away from the door. It was silent for just a moment and then a shrill cry began to grow in volume. Clara quickly opened it.

Sebastian was sprawled out on the floor in front of her next to a toy train, beginning to wail. Clara knelt down.

“Seb, buddy, what happened?” Clara cooed. Sebastian looked up and recognition flickered in his eyes. He reached out to her.

“He just chased the train headfirst into your door,” Vanessa said from the end of the hallway, stifling a smile.

 _I’ve been spotted._ Clara can’t go back into hiding now. Oh well.

“Aw, Seb!” Clara chuckled turning her attention back to the crying toddler, picking him and the toy train up, “Estás bien, chico.” Clara was reminded of how sore her arm was. She gave him the train and he took it in his small hand, calming down. “Dile esa puerta mala, ‘¡Mira por dondé vas!’“ Clara told him with a tickle in his side.

_Tell that mean door, "Watch where you're going!"_

He looked at her with a small grin and watery eyes, his tongue pushing past his lone pair of teeth. Clara couldn’t help but giggle. He was adorable.

“There you go, you’re alright,” Clara smiled. She felt a small sense of doom as she walked down the hall and passed him to Vanessa, then followed her into the kitchen.

“Were you able to sleep at all?” Vanessa asked.

“A little bit, I think,” Clara lied as she nervously glancing around.

“Lin is out,” Vanessa informed her, “He went to go get some breakfast stuff and coffee. Something about a Puerto Rican pastry. Who knows.”

“Sounds like Lin,” Clara replied with the flash of an uncertain smile that quickly disappeared.

Vanessa took a seat at the table and studied Clara for a moment. “You okay?” Vanessa asked earnestly.

Clara sighed a little, joining her at the table.

“I just… I’m _so_ sorry,” Clara said quietly.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” Vanessa replied.

“This is the second night in a row I—” Clara paused, unable to think of something else to say, “I’m just so sorry.” Her eyes were watering but she willed herself to hold it in.

“When we asked you to stay with us, we knew that you would be struggling,” Vanessa explained, “You’ve been through so much this week, Clara. Be gentle with yourself.”

“I think I yelled at Lin in Spanish,” Clara murmured regretfully, covering her eyes.

“Oh, well I already do that to him every day. He’s used to that.”

Clara gave Vanessa a look.

“Okay, I know, it’s different,” Vanessa withdrew the witty remark.

“I just—I think I told him something that made him feel like I blame him,” Clara admitted and quickly added, “But I don’t! And I never want him to think that, especially after everything you’ve both done for me.”

“You know that there is one person responsible for what happened, and it’s definitely not Lin,” Vanessa assured her, “He knows that too.”

In very Lin fashion, the man entered right on cue. They heard the front door being unlocked and pushed open. It made Clara jump.

“Hey Lin,” Vanessa greeted.

“Hello, hello, hello,” Lin replied casually, closing the door and making his way over. “Hey buddy!” He greeted Sebastian while placing the goods down. “How are you doing, kiddo?” He asked, tone changing. It took Clara a moment to realize he was now speaking to her.

“I’m okay,” Clara replied simply.

Lin paused, just looking at her for a moment. Clara hoped that she had schooled her features enough, but it felt like he instantly read her anyway. He just nodded.

How dare he know her so well after only such a short amount of time with her? He was too empathetic for his own good, probably.

“Alright,” Lin unfroze, focusing back to the paper bag and tray of cups he had placed on the table, “I come bearing mallorcas y café con leche.”

“¿Mallorcas?” Clara questioned.

“Si un croissant tuvo un bebe con una rosaquilla…”

_If a croissant had a baby with a doughnut…_

Lin explained as he opened the bag a gestured proudly to the round, swirled pastry inside, “Mallorca. It’s a Puerto Rican pastry, basically sweet bread.”

Clara hummed approvingly.

“They’re pretty good, I bet you’ll like it,” Vanessa nodded.

“And I wasn’t sure if you were a coffee drinker, so I got one for you anyway,” Lin added.

“One cream, five sugars,” Clara deadpanned then pulled a tiny smirk.

“Hardy har,” Lin sang back dryly.

He just responded to a reference to his musical with another reference to his musical. Clara giggled and shook her head.

They had normal conversation as they ate breakfast, but Clara was quieter, more distracted. Her mind drifted between feeling terribly self-conscious to wondering what will happen at the arraignment today to overwhelming drowsiness. By the time they had finished, she was nearly asleep at the table. She honestly didn’t notice they were done until Vanessa was offering to bring her plate to the sink.

“You know,” Vanessa began, “I’m sure Melanie will call soon, but until then, do you want to go back to sleep for a little?”

“No.”

Clara replied too quickly, too definitively, too…fear-ridden. Vanessa and Lin exchanged a look of concern and maybe a bit of pity.

She’s afraid to sleep.

Clara wanted to evaporate into thin air.

“Okay,” Vanessa said gently, “I’m going to start some cartoons for Seb if you want to help me keep him entertained.”

“Sure,” Clara said quietly, flushed with embarrassment. She followed them into the living room and sat down on the couch. She played with Seb for a little while before he wandered over to his trains on the carpet.

Clara fought to keep her eyes open. She tried to focus on the TV, tried to shift every once in a while to keep her body moving, but she still felt herself dozing off. She didn’t want to sleep. She wasn’t _safe_ in her sleep.

Lin and Vanessa watched her struggle for a few minutes, hoping she would just drift off but to no avail. She was halfway between unconsciousness and crying when Lin gently got her attention. He was holding out a blanket to her.

“You’re safe,” He reminded her quietly, “We’ll be right here, I promise.”

She held his gaze for a moment and he gave her a half-smile with encouraging eyes. She wordlessly took the blanket and curled up underneath it. The next time Lin looked over, she was fast asleep.

**A/N: Comment with your favorite line or moment from this chapter if you have a second, I'd love to know :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote this and I want it out of my drafts and never want to read it again. It's too truthful and it makes me sad inside. I know it's short, and normally I edit/proofread everything I post, but this one is what it is, please excuse any errors.

It had been about an hour when Vanessa took Sebastian upstairs to change him and get him dressed.

Clara started stirring on the couch. Lin looked over to find her still asleep but noticed the pace of her breathing was picking up as a small sound of distress escaped her.

_Shit._

He didn’t want to be the one to wake her because that might just scare her even more. He needed to get Vanessa, but just the sound and motion of getting up off the couch was enough to wake Clara.

She sprang to life with a loud gasp, limbs flailing, tangled in the blanket as her eyes frantically darted around the room.

“You’re okay, you’re okay!” Lin quickly reassured her before quickly calling over his shoulder in the direction of the stairs, “Nessa?!” He knelt down and had his hands up in front of himself to show Clara he wasn’t a threat before addressing her again. “Clara—soy yo, Lin.”

_It’s me, Lin._

Her eyes snapped over to examine his face, quickly registering who he was before gripping one of his wrists of his outstretched hands, clinging to the small thread of reality. If she let go, she would surely be transported back to that closet or just shatter altogether, becoming the very fragments of glass that had scattered on its floor.

“There you go--you’re in me and Vanessa’s apartment,” He explained calmly. He followed where her gaze trailed, onto the carpet where Sebastian had been playing. “Yeah, those are Seb’s trains,” He confirmed, “You’re in our living room. You had a nightmare.”

Clara exhaled shakily, her posture dropping. Lin detected the shift in her demeanor.

“You with me, kiddo?” Lin asked gently.

Clara nodded, looking up at him briefly before dropping her head.

Lin saw her face begin to crumple.

“Oh, cariño,” Lin whispered sympathetically, wishing he could stop the pain welling in her eyes.

The most heart wrenching, helpless sobs began to shake her.

She still hadn’t released Lin’s arm. Lin sensed the contact’s importance and decided not to break it.

“I’m going to sit next to you, okay?” Lin said just loudly enough for Clara to hear it over the sound of her own crying. She nodded her head again. He joined her on the couch, as far away as he could while still keeping his arm within comfortable reach for her.

\----

“Nessa?!”

Vanessa immediately knew by the sound of Lin’s voice that something was wrong. She quickly secured the tabs of Sebastian’s new diaper and scooped him off the changing table. She hurried downstairs into the sunroom and could vaguely hear crying and the hum of her husband’s even voice in the next room.

“Be a good boy for a few minutes and play with your train, okay?” She said to Sebastian as she placed him into his playpen.

Vanessa quietly rushed over to the living room. She saw Lin carefully seating himself next to Clara, who was now awake and a wreck. She didn’t look scared—not even of Lin, whose wrist she appeared to be holding—she just looked absolutely _devastated_. Vanessa quietly sighed, wishing Clara could have at least a moment of peace.

“Vanessa’s here too,” Lin quietly updated Clara.

“Clara, it’s Vanessa,” she said softly as she approached, “I’m going to sit right here on the floor, okay?”

Clara’s only response is another sob.

“Take a deep breath,” Vanessa soothed, “You’re safe.”

Clara began to shake her head.

“You—You don’t,” Clara tried, “You don’t understand, I—”

She was too upset to get the words out.

“It’s okay,” Vanessa nodded sweetly encouraging her.

“I-I’ll never be safe!” Clara finally choked out, “I’ll never be safe cause it’s in my head like it’s happening a-all over again, I can’t be s-safe when it’s in my head. He’ll always—I’ll never be safe!”

The words poured out of her in an unstoppable torrent of truth.

Vanessa was heartbroken and Lin started crying a little.

Now it was all too real for Clara. The words of her greatest fear hanging in the air, strung together like a vine wrapping tight around her throat.

“Clara, listen to me, I need you to breathe, sweetheart,” Vanessa tried, “Clara.”

“Use Spanish,” Lin suggested as he used his free hand to subtly wipe his eyes.

“Clara, escúchame—necesitas respirar, mija,” Vanessa catching her eye contact, “Sí, se puedes, aspira…”

_You can do it, breathe in…_

Vanessa demonstrated a deep breath in and Clara followed.

“Y exhala,” Vanessa directed, “Otra vez, mija. Aspira. Y exhala.”

_And exhale. Again, sweetie. Inhale. And exhale._

Vanessa guides her breathing until just quiet tears streamed down Clara’s face.

“Clara, we will keep you safe out here,” Vanessa assured her steadily, “And we will get you the help you need to feel safe in there, too,” she finished, gesturing to her head. “Okay?”

Clara couldn’t see how on earth that would be possible. She’ll never be able to _forget_. Forgetting felt like the only way to fix this.

Vanessa sees her hesitance.

“I can’t imagine how hopeless this feels,” Vanessa leveled, “And I want to tell you everything is going to be okay, but I know ‘okay’ probably seems so far away that it doesn’t matter. So how about we just take one step in the right direction today? We can ask Melanie for the names of a few therapists when we talk to her. She knows all the best people. Does that sound like a good idea?”

Clara nodded.

“Good, just one step at a time,” Vanessa encouraged.

“Sorry,” Clara said quietly, half an apology to both of them for making a scene and the other half just to Lin as she remembered to release his arm. Clara noticed that his eyes seemed a little wet and it made her heart warm and sink in tandem.

“Nothing to be sorry for, mija,” Lin said with a gentle smile, “I’m going to get you some tissues and water, alright?”

“Please,” Clara said gratefully, attempting to stem the flow of tears and snot with the back of her hand.

Lin returns with supplies in hand and Clara cleans herself up.

“Will a very cute kid help?” Lin asked, “I’ve got one on deck.”

“Yes,” Clara chuckles, “Definitely.”

“Cute kid, comin’ right up!” Lin announced with a finger sweeping through the air as he went to get Seb from his playpen.

It was strange, but something about Sebastian truly was helpful to Clara. Maybe it was the oxytocin hit or maybe she recognizes the innocence in him as a part of herself that she had just lost. Clara wasn’t sure, but she knew it helped. She went and sat on the floor with Seb after Lin placed him down. The toddler crawled over and plonked himself down right in her lap. He looked up at her and the light in his eyes was bright enough to drive out even the darkest of shadows. Maybe that's what it was about him--maybe it felt like safety.

**A/N: Let me know if you have a favorite line/moment in the comments. It seriously makes my day. I appreciate all of you for reading this, truly I do. I hope you're all happy and healthy <3**


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the legal crash course chapter ft. Vanessa secretly being a mom, Melanie being an MVP, and Clara Panicking™

Vanessa was sitting on the couch as Lin cleaned up the kitchen. She watched Clara play with Sebastian for a little while before pulling out her phone. She texted Melanie.

**Vanessa**   
_Hi Melanie, would you mind putting together the names of a few therapists you’d recommend for when you meet with Clara later?_

**Melanie  
** _Of course. Everything okay?_

**Vanessa**   
_She’s hanging in there, but definitely struggling. Every time she sleeps, she wakes up screaming. I feel terrible for her. We talked and she said she was interested in counseling._

**Melanie  
** _Unfortunately nightmares are really common :( I know there’s a specific medication that a lot of my clients find relief with. But yes, I definitely have a couple of people to refer her to._

**Vanessa**   
_Excellent, thank you so much._

**Melanie  
** _I’ll be out of court at 11am, do you think you could come by my office then?_

Vanessa looked up from her phone.

“Clara, Melanie just texted me,” Vanessa said, “She wants to meet around eleven?”

“Okay, sounds good,” Clara replied, “Are you going to—or do you...”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Vanessa filled in the blank of what Clara was attempting to ask.

“Yes, please,” Clara said with a bit of relief.

\----------

The inside of the highrise building was like a mansion. Everything was marble, elegantly trimmed with metallic accents. The vaulted ceilings made the buzz of the lobby traffic echo.

Vanessa and Clara proceeded to the small army of elevators and stepped inside, followed by a man in a gray suit.

Vanessa saw that Clara had moved to stand as far away as possible from him. He reached to press one of the buttons and Clara stiffened. Vanessa decided to place herself between Clara and the man.

The doors slid open to reveal the ninth floor where Clara followed Vanessa out into the hallway. They approached a door that read _Springs and Associates_.

“Here we are,” Vanessa smiled, “You ready?”

“Yep,” Clara smiled back.

They entered the office, which seemed just as grand and elegant as the lobby downstairs. Clara approached the receptionist seated behind a desk.

“Hi, I’m here for an appointment with—”

“Clara, Vanessa!”

Melanie poked her head around the corner.

“Perfect timing,” She said warmly, “You can come on back to my office.”

Melanie’s office was not so metallic and chic—it was cozy and warm. The seafoam green walls enveloped the room and pale purple decorations tied together its soothing glow. Clara and Vanessa sat down on one of the soft couches as they exchanged greetings with Melanie who offered them coffee before joining them in an adjacent chair.

“So Clara, are you familiar with the arraignment process?” Melanie asked.

“To be honest, not really,” Clara admitted.

“That’s totally fine, I’ll explain it a bit. So once a defendant—Reggie, in this case—is arrested, they go before a judge to be ‘arraigned.’ The judge explains the charges and the defendant can either plead guilty or not guilty. They can also ask for a lawyer. Reggie pled not guilty and requested counsel. I spoke with the District Attorney’s office and they would be eager to prosecute this case if it were to go to trial, which is a good thing. That means they believe the case is strong enough for him to be convicted. Does all of that make sense so far?”

“Yes,” Clara nodded.

“There is also another option on the table, which is a plea deal. Do you know what that is?” Melanie asked.

“Vaguely?” Clara replied, “Like trading verdicts for less time in jail?”

“Right, a defendant can negotiate with the DA’s office for lesser charges to spend less time in jail and avoid a trial. Usually a defendant will do this when there’s a good chance they’ll lose in court.”

“Okay,” Clara nodded.

Melanie placed a piece of paper on the coffee table and pointed with a pen.

“These are the charges that he’s currently facing: attempted rape in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, facilitating a sex offense with a controlled substance, tampering with a witness, and stalking.”

“I thought you said the stalking would only be charged if there was enough proof?” Clara mused.

Melanie hesitated for a moment and Clara could see imminent bad news in her expression.

“The detectives were able to get the footage from your dormitory’s security cameras,” Melanie explained slowly, glancing over to Vanessa, “Clara, I’m so sorry to tell you this, but they have him on tape eleven times over the past three weeks.”

Oh. _Oh._

Clara’s vision started narrowing.

“I think I’m going to throw up.”

“Why don’t we take a break and go to the bathroom,” Vanessa said, helping Clara up.

“It’s right across the hall,” Melanie quickly got up and led them.

Once they were in the bathroom, Clara made a break for one of the sinks. She immediately turned on the hot water and started washing her hands.

She felt dirty, like she had to wash something away.

“Clara—”

“I didn’t even,” Clara shook her head, tears clouding her vision, “I didn’t even notice. How did he even… He followed me home? He must have… God he followed me home. Weeks ago, _Weeks_ ago. And I didn’t even notice—and he followed me all the way home. He knew and I…”

“Clara,” Melanie called her attention, “I’m going to turn off the water and hand you this paper towel, and you’re going to dry your hands, okay?”

Clara looked down helplessly at her hands and stopped her vigorous scrubbing, noticing that her skin was burning red and her chest was rapidly heaving.

“But…” Clara stuttered, unable to breathe and unsure of which of her racing thoughts to articulate first.

“It’s okay. Your hands are clean,” Melanie reassured her as she slowly reached and turned off the faucet, “You’re clean.”

Melanie held out the paper towel and Clara took it with shaking hands.

“Tell me about what the paper feels like on your skin, Clara,” Melanie directed her in a soothing, hushed tone.

Clara took a moment to think about the sensation.

“Rough,” Clara replied, “Crinkly.”

“Good,” Melanie said gently, “Now, do you still smell the soap on your hands?”

Clara leaned her head down a bit closer to sniff.

“Yes.”

“Can you take a nice deep breath through your nose and tell me what the soap smells like?” Melanie guided.

Clara inhaled, her eyes drifting shut to focus. “Like… flowers?” Clara guessed, “Like lavender or… Lilac maybe.”

“Excellent,” Melanie encouraged quietly, “Those are both purple flowers. Purple is my favorite color. What’s yours?

“Yellow.”

“Okay, tell me three yellow things you see right now, anything in the room that’s yellow.”

“The faucet is-is gold,” Clara listed, glancing around, “Vanessa’s shoes, and… your necklace.”

“Great, that’s great Clara,” Melanie said with a small smile, “Is it okay with you if we go to my office to sit and rest for a little while?”

Clara simply nodded.

“Okay, let’s go,” Melanie agreed.

Vanessa was enthralled by Melanie’s de-escalation skills. It was truly impressive, and it was clear that Melanie had done it many times for her clientele. Vanessa was a little guilty—maybe she shouldn’t feel so grateful that Melanie had stepped in to help Clara, but it was a relief not to hold the responsibility on her own.

“There’s a blanket right behind you if you’d like one,” Melanie pointed out as they were sitting down.

“Oh, thanks,” Clara replied quietly, opting to wrap herself in it.

“How have you been sleeping, Clara?” Melanie asked gently.

“Um, well, I haven’t, really,” Clara replied, nervously looking to Vanessa, “I’ve mostly just been having nightmares or staying awake.”

“That sounds exhausting,” Melanie nodded sympathetically.

“Yeah, I was hoping you’d maybe know, like… who to talk to about that kind of stuff?” Clara asked, suddenly struggling to produce a formal sentence.

“Like a therapist?” Melanie helped her along. Clara nodded. “Yes, I have a few great people to recommend.” Melanie got up and retrieved three business cards from her desk and returned, handing them to Clara.

“So there are two therapists, both of them are excellent, just see which one has the earliest opening. Then this one,” Melanie points to the green trimmed card, “Is a doctor, Dr. Lucia, she’s awesome. I would give her a call as soon as you can because she can get you something to help with the nightmares. You have to be able to sleep, right? Your body is healing and it’s so important for your mental health too.”

“Okay,” Clara nodded slowly.

“Never seen a therapist or anything before?” Melanie guessed.

Clara shook her head.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, but it’s totally normal if it seems scary or stupid or overwhelming or whatever—I see it as an extra ear, an extra person to lean on when you need support. I’d recommend to just be as open and honest as you can with them so they know what you need, and the rest will happen organically.”

“Okay, that sounds… okay,” Clara said, a little relieved.

“There is no right or wrong way to be dealing with this,” Melanie assured her, “However you’ve been struggling, whatever you’ve been feeling, I just want you to know that you’re doing a great job.”

“Is it going to be like this forever though?” Clara asked, “So… hard?”

“No, it won’t,” Melanie shook her head, “People are able to process, handle, move on, and even grow from trauma. There’s a lot of healing to do and it’s hard now, but your life will still be just as full and happy as anyone else’s.”

Melanie says it so simply and confidently that Clara is almost convinced it’s true.

“So, what was it about the plea deal?” Clara asked, revisiting their last topic of conversation.

“Right,” Melanie began, “There’s a possibility that a plea bargain could be negotiated. In the ideal world, we’d want the defendant to be convicted for every crime he committed, but in a plea deal, some of those crimes will be dropped. The DA’s office would like to hear your opinion on a deal they are planning to offer.”

“Okay,” Clara sighed, ready as she would ever be.

Melanie revisited the paper she had shown her earlier.

“They’d like to drop the attempted rape charge down to a sexual abuse charge and drop one of the assault charges entirely.”

“But he did do all of those things…” Clara voiced her confusion as she pointed to the list of charges in front of her. How could what he did magically go away?

“Yes, he absolutely did, Clara, and no one doubts that,” Melanie said emphatically, “The plea deal functions as a compromise for you and the court, but it does not compromise on the truth.”

“Well, is this a good deal?” Clara asked, unsure, “Compared to what you’ve seen before?”

“I would advise that it is a very good deal, yes. He will be convicted of four felonies and one misdemeanor so it will yield substantial time in prison and he will be on the sex offender registry for life. The other choice would be going to trial. I have to be honest—you have incredibly high-profile witnesses. A trial would be highly publicized. With this deal, you can start healing, uninterrupted by a trial, testifying, or possibly even risking an innocent verdict. You’ll go to bed knowing he’s in prison and will stay there for years.”

“That’s what I want,” Clara said quietly.

“There is also, of course, an argument to be made in favor of going to trial. It would be a tumultuous process, but it could—”

“No, I want to start healing,” Clara interrupted in a sudden moment of clarity, “I pursued pressing charges because I wanted to protect other people and because I wanted him to go to prison. He’ll go to prison and he’ll be put on the sex offender registry so everyone will know he’s dangerous. That’s what I want. I want the plea deal."

“Okay,” Melanie nodded reverently, “I will let the DA know then.” Both Melanie and Vanessa were regarding Clara with warm, proud eyes.

It did feel good to have such a hand in deciding his fate. The control was redeeming.

“How long will he be in prison for?” Clara asked.

“So, that’s the next step: sentencing.” Melanie said, “If he accepts the plea deal, he’ll go before a judge in about two or three months for sentencing. Based on the charges, the judge will decide how long his sentence will be. There can also be an opportunity for you to speak at the hearing as well if you’d like to.”

“There is?” Clara asked.

“Yes. It’s completely optional, but if you’d like to give a victim impact statement you can. It’s a chance for you to explain how your life has been affected so the judge can factor that into their decision. You could also address Reggie if that’s something you would be interested in doing.”

Clara was a bit taken aback.

“What would I say to him?”

“Anything you need to, within reason. I’ve had clients say anything from their final ‘f you’ to their abuser to even expressing forgiveness towards their abuser.”

“I—I don’t know,” Clara replied hesitantly.

“And that’s alright, it’s not a decision that needs to be made right now. This is all assuming the plea deal is accepted and even then, we’re still looking a couple of months down the line. There’s plenty of time to decide.”

“Okay,” Clara nodded.

“Do you have any questions, Clara?” Melanie asked.

“I guess just when we’ll hear back about the plea deal,” Clara replied.

“That should be within the next 24 hours. It could be today, but it depends on his lawyer’s court schedule.”

“And if they don’t take the deal, what does that mean?” Clara asked.

“We would be looking at a trial,” Melanie predicted, “There’s a chance another deal could be negotiated, but honestly it’s not likely that the DA’s office would be any more lenient than the deal we just talked about, considering the strength of the case.”

“Alright, so I guess we just hope for the best for now,” Clara said, looking at Vanessa, “Wait to hear about the plea deal?”

“That’s exactly what I would recommend,” Vanessa replied.

“Yes, and don’t forget to call and schedule those appointments you’re interested in,” Melanie added.

“Right, right,” Clara was grateful for the reminder, “Thank you so much for everything.”

“You’ve been amazing, Melanie, I can’t thank you enough,” Vanessa added.

“Of course! Thank you for trusting me,” Melanie replied, “I’ll contact you as soon as I hear anything, okay? Call or text me in the meantime if you need anything.”

By the time Clara and Vanessa had made it back down to the extravagant lobby, Clara was sick of the waiting game already.

**A/N: Let me know in the comments your favorite line/moment from this chapter if you have one. It brings me joy :')**

**So all of my knowledge in this chapter is based on my own experience or my general understanding of the legal system. My case was a plea deal but I was never brought into it because my charge against him wasn't changed (he had a bunch of other charges unrelated to me that were a part of the deal). Because of this, my knowledge about this part a little limited but hopefully it's accurate. I'm not a lawyer, just a traumatized bean tryna tell a little story <3**


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not much good at art, but I drew one of the scenes from this chapter. I'll try to put in a link to it--Let me know if you can't see it!
> 
> Tell me if you have a favorite line/moment in the comments. They make me very, very happy <3

On the subway back to Lin and Vanessa’s apartment, Clara got a text from Patty.

**Patty**  
_Hey Clara! Are you back on campus yet?_

**Clara**  
_No, not yet. I was thinking about coming back tonight, but I think I want to move rooms before I do._

**Patty**  
_Wait, where do you want to move? I live in Kennedy and I don’t have a roommate!_

**Clara**  
_SHUT UP that would literally be perfect. Do you think housing would let me switch?_

**Patty**  
_I don’t see why not. You could text your RA and ask them how it works?_

**Clara**  
_*maniacal scheming*_

**Patty**  
_Lmao you can come sleepover tonight if you want a test run?! I don’t have class until 3 on Thursdays, so we can chill out tomorrow._

**Clara**  
_Honestly that sounds great._

Clara consulted Vanessa who agreed that it was an excellent idea.

When they got back to the apartment, Clara decided her first priority was soothing her horrendous nightmares. She called the doctor that Melanie had recommended. A friendly receptionist answered and Clara asked about an appointment, mentioning her referral from Melanie. Apparently, that was the magic word because she was then transferred right over to the doctor. Once they were done talking, Clara returned to the living room, greeted by the sight of Lin, Vanessa and Sebastian strewn about the room.

“That took a while,” Vanessa said, “Did they have you on hold?”

“No, I actually talked to the doctor,” Clara said, still surprised herself.

“Wow, that’s nice!” Vanessa commented.

“Yeah, I guess Melanie really has her connections,” Clara replied with a smile, “She sent a prescription over to the pharmacy so I can pick it up on the way back to campus later.”

“Oh, are you headed back to NYU today?” Lin asked.

“Yeah, I’m hopefully moving into a different dorm with a friend, but I’m at least going to sleep over with her until I can talk to housing,” Clara explained, “I know it’s not particularly rational but… I don’t think I can look at my current dorm the same anymore.”

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Lin said.

“Did Vanessa tell you about…” Clara looked at Vanessa and back to Lin.

“Yes, that and the current waiting game,” Lin supplied as Vanessa nodded, “I have been given the update. How are you feeling?”

Clara thought about a generic ‘fine’ response but then thought better of it.

“Numb,” Clara replied honestly, “I don’t really know what to feel when everything is so uncertain anyway.”

“Well, hopefully it won’t be long now,” Lin said.

“ _Any day,”_ Clara softly sang the ending of Lin’s own song.

“Ah, I always forget you’re an In the Heights kid,” Lin smiled fondly.

“Por siempre,” Clara said, glancing at Vanessa, wondering if she had kept Clara’s secret from the first night they’d met.

It was lunch time, but Clara’s stomach was tied in knots and food was the last thing on her mind. She watched Sebastian, sitting in a puddle of sunlight on the living room floor while Vanessa was in the kitchen and Lin worked on his laptop.

Clara’s phone sprang to life on the carpet next to her, Melanie’s name appearing on the screen. Electricity shot through her tongue and fingertips.

“Lin?”

Lin glanced up at the sound of Clara’s wavering voice and saw her staring at the phone, buzzing on the floor. She looked panicked, frozen.

“Vanessa!” Lin called towards the kitchen as he got up and sat down with Clara. “No matter what, Clara, I promise it’s going to be okay,” Lin said steadily and nodded to the phone as an instruction to pick it up, “It’s alright.”

Clara managed to take the phone in her hand. Vanessa had rushed in and quickly understood what was occurring. She joined them on the floor, pulling Sebastian into her lap as Clara answered the phone on speaker.

“Hello?”

“Hi Clara, it’s Melanie,” she greeted happily and cut straight to the chase, “He accepted the plea deal.”

“Oh my god,” Clara whispered, covering her mouth. Vanessa and Lin locked eyes, smiles creeping onto their faces.

“He’s been convicted of three class D felonies, one class E felony, and a class A misdemeanor,” Melanie reported, “He’ll be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.”

“Oh my god,” Clara repeated with a disbelieving laugh, muffled by the palm of her hand. She looked at Vanessa, trying to make sure this was all real then back at the phone. “S-So we don’t have to go to trial?” Clara asked Melanie, voice brimming with tears and hope, needing to hear it said out loud.

“No, you won’t have to go to trial,” Melanie assured.

The relief poured out of Clara in a wave of tears.

“Oh my god,” was the only phrase Clara felt capable of choking out again as sobs shook her small frame, “Thank you.”

“You can thank yourself,” Melanie said earnestly, “You are the one who made this possible and it was just my honor to help. Are you still with the Miranda’s?”

“Yeah, they’re right here,” Clara sniffled with a smile.

“Hi Melanie!”

“Hey!”

“Oh good, hi there!” Melanie greeted, “Let me know if you guys need anything at all, alright? We’ll be in touch about sentencing.”

“Thank you so much, Melanie,” Vanessa said.

“Yes, thank you for everything,” Lin added.

“My pleasure,” Melanie replied, “Have a good rest of your day.”

They said a chorus of goodbyes before Clara ended the call.

“You did it, Clara!” Vanessa said sweetly.

“I can’t believe it,” Clara replied wiping away tears despite continuing to cry.

“How do you feel?” Lin asked enthusiastically, teary-eyed as well.

Clara couldn’t speak for a moment, a new wave of tears welling up at the thought:

“ _Grateful_ ,” she whispered, “I feel so grateful.”

“Oh mija,” Vanessa sighed.

“S-so many people deserve this moment, but they never get it and I-” Clara shook her head to contain a sob before gathering herself to continue, “I just feel so _lucky._ For this. For everything you’ve done for me.” Clara looked at Vanessa. “Vanessa—for the hospital, for the police station, for Melanie… and Lin,” Clara turned to him, “Who knows what would have even…” She couldn’t finish the sentence, tears streaming down her face.

“Clara,” Lin said softly. Vanessa placed a grounding hand on Clara’s ankle.

“When I… When I came out to my mom, she said that god would punish me—that I deserved the bad things that happen to me. So I… I really thought I _deserved_ what happened. But then you told me it wasn’t my fault and brought me into your home and held me while I cried, and I just knew… If god wanted to punish me, He wouldn’t have sent me you guys. I’m so, so grateful.”

Clara dissolved back into sobs. Lin and Vanessa had both started crying too. Their parental instincts whispered of scooping her up, loving and protecting her as one of their own. Lin moved his arm as an invitation and unsurprisingly, Clara quickly found her way into the space, leaning against his side. [Lin and Vanessa looked at each other](https://ibb.co/s3trZPw).(<\--click to see sketch)

“You deserve _this_ , Clara,” Lin said quietly with a sniffle, “You deserve justice, and safety, and people who care about you… and to love whoever you want, okay?”

Clara nodded on his shoulder. She covered her mouth again in an attempt to dampen her sobs, only removing it momentarily to whimper:

“Thank you.”

“Of course, mija,” Lin replied, “Of course.”

Sebastian had climbed out of Vanessa’s lap and crawled over to Clara. He pulled on the fabric of her shirt, successfully getting her attention.

“Happy?” He asked curiously, pointing to the wetness on her face.

Clara couldn’t help but start laughing.

“Yes, Seb!” Clara responded with a nod, “Happy tears!”

He smiled proudly and draped himself over her lap, giving her legs a hug.

“Aw, thanks buddy,” Clara giggled, along with Lin and Vanessa.

Clara had dreamed about moving to New York for so long, she was sure she had imagined every scenario possible. This, however, was certainly not one of them. Looking down at the toddler attached to her, she felt oddly at home here, sitting between Lin and Vanessa in the middle of their living room floor crying together. It felt familiar.

It felt safe.

\-------

Later that day, Lin and Clara took the subway together—Lin on his way to the theater and Clara on the way back to NYU.

“I wanted to talk to you about your internship,” he began, “Just so you know, there’s zero pressure about coming back. Whenever you’re ready, if you’re ever ready—I mean, we could even switch you to a different theater if you don’t ever want to come back, which I would totally understand.”

Clara shook her head.

“No, I definitely want to stay with Hamilton,” She replied confidently before trying to explain, “I don’t want to let this experience change what I love. I don’t want to give it that much power.”

“Okay,” He nodded respectfully.

“I don’t know about when, though. Like, is it good to take a break or should I just get back on the horse right away? Or what if I think I’m ready and then I’m not and I freak out in front of everyone?”

“Well, if you want, we could go when other people aren’t around, so you can test the waters?” Lin offered then quickly clarified, “Vanessa could come, or whoever you’d be comfortable with.”

“Yeah, maybe in a couple weeks?” Clara said.

“Sure, whenever you’re ready,” he smiled, “Here, put my number in your phone. I want you to text me when you get to your friend’s place anyway, so I know you got there safe.”

Clara had a smirk on her face. _Okay, dad._

“Look, stress isn’t good on an old man’s heart,” Lin joked, “Just do me the favor of putting my mind at ease.”

Clara laughed and saved his number.

“If you give that to anyone, you’re toast, ya hear me?” Lin warned.

“I shall take it to the grave then,” Clara quipped, “My very untoasted grave.”

When the subway came to Lin’s stop, he hesitated.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you?” He asked.

“I’m sure,” Clara smiled, “Break a leg tonight.”

“Don’t forget to text me when you get there!” He said, pointing at her accusatorily as he stepped off onto the platform.

“I won’t!” Clara called as the doors slid shut.

She put in headphones but didn’t turn on any music. She wanted to be alert, aware. She had some degree of confidence now that Reggie was in jail, but her subconscious clearly hadn’t received the memo. Her anxiety ran with every threat it perceived.

She picked up her prescription and when she had finally made it to Patty’s, she kept her promise and texted Lin.

\------

Chris sat in Daveed’s dressing room, showing him a video. Lin stuck his head in and saw them both.

“Hey Lin, what’s up?” Chris greeted him.

“Stay right there,” Lin replied, holding up a ‘one moment’ finger. Lin scampered off to Jonathan’s dressing room.

“Groff,” Lin called to him.

Groff’s head popped up with a “Hm?”

Lin gestured for him to follow as he walked back to Daveed’s room. He closed the door behind Groff.

“He pled guilty to four felonies and a misdemeanor,” Lin announced without preamble, a small smile sneaking onto his face, “That shit is going to prison.”

“Oh thank fuck,” Chris sighed.

“Ho. ly. shit,” Daveed drew out.

“That was so quick!” Jonathan said, “So no trial?”

“No trial,” Lin confirmed.

“How’s Clara?” Chris asked, “She still staying with you guys?”

“She’s actually moving into a new dorm tonight. It’s been a very emotional week at the Miranda household to say the least,” Lin admitted, “But he’s going to prison and will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. That’s exactly what Clara was hoping for, so she’s really grateful.”

“She sounds like a great kid,” Groff thought aloud.

“That’s an understatement,” Lin chuckled, “I think Vanessa wanted to keep her.”

“Oh my god,” Daveed said quietly, “They actually put a white boy in jail.”

“I think it was a combination of Clara’s tenacity, the privilege of having an excellent lawyer, and a very strong case.”

“Damn,” Groff nodded, “That’s incredible.”

“Yes, so do we think we can… _refrain_ from homicide now?” Lin asked, “I don’t want to have to re-cast the show.”

“I guess,” Chris replied flatly.

\------

Patty and Clara were sitting on her bed when Patty flicked on her desk lamp and reached into the drawer of her desk. After a brief moment of digging, she pulled out a bag on mini snickers.

Clara’s heart glowed. She remembered her favorite midnight snack.

“Oh my god, you are a saint!”

“Seems like this week was tough, so I figured you could use a pick me up,” Patty explained, tearing open the bag and placing it between them.

“A saint, I tell you…” Clara laughed, “Thank you so much.”

“Oh, it’s getting late,” Patty realized, “Do you want to go grab some bedding and stuff from your old room?”

“Right,” Clara choked on the word, “Yeah, I forgot.”

“Or… You could give me the key and I can just go get it?” Patty suggested.

Clara wasn’t sure if she was bad at hiding her fear or if Patty was really good at reading her.

“No, no,” Clara said, “We can go.”

“You have bad memories in there?” Patty asked gently, “You don’t have to tell me about it, I just… You seem nervous.”

It was kind of the gorilla in the dorm room.

“Sort of…” Clara stalled, wanting to phrase what had happened in the most minimized, unalarming fashion possible.

She detached herself from the story, just summarizing facts. No need to breakdown or cry or anything.

“It was actually at my internship. This guy was a real creep, attacked me,” Clara explained, gesturing to her black eye, “but he knew where I lived and even left me a note one time. He’s in jail now, so there’s nothing to worry about, but ever since then it’s freaked me out a little.”

Just the facts. A few omissions, but facts nonetheless.

“Oh my god, Clara, I’m so sorry,” Patty responded genuinely.

“It’s okay,” Clara replied with a small smile of reassurance.

“Are you sure you want to come with me? I don’t mind going and grabbing it.”

“No, it’s fine. It’ll probably be good for me,” Clara said, “Besides, you shouldn’t go in the dark on your own.

They journeyed out into the cool September evening air. As they arrived at her old building, her heart was racing.

“You okay?” Patty asked.

Clara nodded.

They made it up to her room and Clara opened the door. She looked at the spot where she had found the piece of paper. Nothing was there, just the cold tile floor. The air in the room felt precarious, like anything could just tumble out of it unannounced.

Clara quickly peeled her bedding off and took it in her arms.

“Good?” Patty confirmed.

“Good.” Clara replied.

Clara locked up on their way out, happy to leave the memories trapped behind the closed door.

She’s sure she looks ridiculous, walking down the street with the giant ball of comforter and sheets she held to herself. She could hardly see over the large lump.

“I can’t see shit,” She giggled, “Direct me!”

“Ah, see, my degree is useful!” Patty joked.

“Oh my god,” Clara rolled her eyes with a laugh.

“What, are we not in the mood for theater jokes?” Patty said, as she stepped ahead and found a place on Clara’s arm to hang onto.

“Only good ones,” Clara retorted as Patty began to guide her.

“I will walk you into a pole, don’t try me.” Patty warned.

They spent the rest of the night chatting and snacking on snicker’s. As Clara got into bed, she couldn’t help but feel a warm sense of contentment. It hadn’t even been five days since that night at the Richard Rogers, but it felt like she had lived a lifetime. She had found a friend, experienced every feeling on the human spectrum of emotion, sent her abuser to prison, and even briefly lived in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s house somehow.

Weird.

She had no idea she would wake up to one of her worst nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. cliffhangerrrrrr.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trauma continues for Clara and Lin is not about to stand idly by.

**A/N: Let me know a favorite line or moment in the comments, it feeds my soul <3 I was going to continue this chapter a little further, but I feel legitimately bad about leaving you all with a cliffhanger and don't want to make you wait any longer 😂**

Lin woke up to Vanessa’s alarm.

“God, why do mornings have to happen every goddamn day?” He lamented, rolling over dramatically.

“Good morning to you too,” Vanessa laughed as she stretched. Seb was clearly awake on the baby monitor. “Let me go grab the gremlin.”

Lin pulled his phone from the nightstand.

 _Whoa._ That’s a lot of Twitter notifications. His goodnight tweet wasn’t anything particularly special last night, was it? He opened the app and there was the same headline in nearly every notification.

_Hamilton Intern Sexually Assaulted by Stage Crewmember_

His throat closed as he opened the article.

_On Saturday, October 3 rd of 2015, Reginald Dougal allegedly assaulted theater intern Clara Fulgencio at the Richard Rogers Theater, home to Broadway’s smash hit show Hamilton: An American Musical. Dougal, who is employed by the show as a sound technician, has pled guilty to several charges including _ _sexual abuse, facilitating a sex offense with a controlled substance, assault, tampering with a witness, and stalking. A source at the theater confirmed that Fulgencio is currently working on the show as part of New York University’s internship program. Dougal was taken into custody on October 7 th and is currently awaiting sentencing._

“Vanessa!” Lin called in a panic. He got out of bed, taking a couple of steps aimlessly. He held his phone in one hand and pulled at his hair with the other. “Fuck… FUCK.”

“Jesus Lin, what’s the matter?” Vanessa rushed in, shocked and concerned. Lin almost never raised his voice like that.

Lin wordlessly handed her the phone. He seated himself on the foot of the bed with his head in his hands.

Vanessa’s face fell as she read. “Oh no, no, no…” She shook her head, her heartbreaking, “How did this even…?”

“I don’t know,” Lin replied flatly before picking up his head, “Groff, Daveed, and Chris are the only ones who know about this and they would never.”

“…Are you sure?” Vanessa asked hesitantly.

“Fuck, of course I’m sure!” Lin said, unable to consider such a thing. He sighed. “Do you think she’s seen it?”

“I don’t know,” Vanessa said, “it’s 6:30am and she’s 18 years old. Hopefully she’s still asleep.”

“We should call Melanie,” Lin decided.

“Let me text her, I’m sure she’s not in her office yet.”

**Vanessa**   
_Hi Melanie, we’re having a bit of a crisis. Could I talk to you as soon as you’re available?_

Vanessa attached a link to the article.

Lin’s phone started to vibrate.

“Shit, it’s Tommy,” He muttered.

“You told him about this, right?” Vanessa asked suspiciously.

Lin just looked at her, scrubbing his hand down his face. He answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Lin, did you see the article?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t hear anything about this, did you?”

“Yes… Tommy, I was there.”

“W-What do you mean you were there?”

“I was there when it happened,” Lin admitted, “Me, Daveed, Chris, and Groff, we were all there. It was between shows on Saturday. We walked in on it happening. We chased him off and Vanessa took Clara to the ER.”

“You didn’t think to tell me this?”

“The police handled it, and I didn’t hear a single whisper about it this week among us…”

“Lin, people talk in this business, you know that,” Tommy said in exasperation, “And these are essentially my employees. I need to know about this kind of stuff!”

“It wasn’t my story to tell,” Lin tried, “She didn’t want other people to know.”

“It doesn’t matter what she wanted, I ne—”

“What she wanted fucking mattered, Tommy!” He snapped, his voice cracking.

Both men fell silent. Vanessa watched Lin with wide eyes.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Tommy finally spoke quietly.

“I know, I know,” Lin breathed, “I’m sorry.”

“I’m putting together a meeting with PR and the legal team later,” Tommy said, “Can you be there?”

“Yeah, course, I’ll be there.”

“Alright, I’ll keep you posted.

“Thanks.”

“Bye.”

Vanessa approached Lin and gently sat down beside him, lacing her fingers through his.

“Lin, this is an impossible situation,” She assured him, “You did the best you could. And you took care of Clara.”

Lin nodded silently. Tears came to his eyes.

“She was so happy yesterday,” Lin started to cry, “And now she’s going to wake up to this.”

Vanessa placed her chin on Lin’s shoulder, feeling the weight of it all as well. It was tragic. Cruel. Unfair.

“Melanie said she’s going to call in a few minutes,” She said gently, “Let’s go get Seb ready together, okay?”

Lin wiped his eyes and nodded, following her to Sebastian’s room.

“Maybe we should call your parents? See if they’ll take him for the day?” Vanessa thought aloud.

“Might be a good idea,” Lin agreed.

\-----------------------

Clara woke up to her phone vibrating. It wasn’t a number she recognized, but something in her told her to answer.

“Hello?” She said quietly, not wanting to wake Patty.

“Hi, is this Clara?” A male voice asked.

“Yes?”

“This is Dr. Senka, director of the stage management department at NYU,” He said professionally, “The Deans and I need to meet with you right away. Can you please come to my office?”

Clara sat up, a sick feeling welling in her stomach. _They know. They must know. How do they know?_

“Right now?” She asked, brow furrowed. It couldn’t be later than 8:30am yet.

“Yes, it’s urgent,” Dr. Senka replied dryly.

“D-Did I do something wrong?” Clara asked anxiously.

“No, we just need to have a discussion.”

That sounded even worse.

“Okay, I’ll… I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

They said goodbye and Clara hung up, her heart racing. She threw on clothes and grabbed her bag, tiptoeing out without disturbing Patty.

She arrived outside Dr. Senka’s office, staring at the heavy, dark oak door looming over her. She knocked hesitantly.

The door pulled open and Dr. Senka appeared.

“Come in, Clara.”

Clara entered, finding two other men sitting in the room as well. The room smelled like leather, old books, and loss.

“Please, sit.”

Clara seated herself, clutching her bag.

“This is Dean Pomare and Dean Colby.”

“Hi,” Clara greeted meekly.

“How are you doing?” One of them asked.

“I’m okay,” Clara said, managing a flicker of half a smile.

“Good, good. Clara, we were very sorry to hear about what happened to you at your internship,” Dean Pomare started.

“H-how did you…” Clara stuttered quietly in confusion.

The three men exchanged nervous looks.

“We thought you’d be aware…”

“Aware of what?” Clara asked, growing more anxious.

Dr. Senka picked up a paper from his desk and slid it towards her.

“This article was released this morning,” he explained.

Clara picked the sheet.

_Hamilton Intern Sexually Assaulted by Stage Crewmember_

_Reginald Dougal…Theater intern Clara Fulgencio…_ _Sexual abuse…New York University’s internship program_

Clara’s throat sealed shut and her chest tightened like a noose. She froze in shock. Was this really happening? Who else has seen this?

Clara’s grip tightened, gaze bouncing from one man to another. They began to talk in circles around her.

“We wanted to tell you how sorry we are that you had to experience such a horrible, awful thing.”

“The trauma you’ve suffered must be affecting you greatly,” Dr. Senka offered.

“Events like these can change the course of a young woman’s entire life,” Dean Pomare proclaimed, “The gravity of your situation should not be understated.”

“Surely when you were admitted to the college, you were made aware of the rigor of our program?” Dr. Senka asked.

“Y-Yes,” Clara managed, her head spinning.

“Unfortunately, the demands of this program aren’t conducive to properly coping with such a great trauma,” Dean Pomare decided, “We believe it would be in your best interest to step away.”

“What?” Clara questioned, tears immediately rushing to her eyes, “I don’t want to take a leave of absence. I-I can manage.”

“While we wish that were true, we’ve seen things like this happen before,” Dr. Senka responded, “And those students weren’t able to complete their course of study.”

“And for that reason,” Dean Pomare added, “We would like you to step away from the school—entirely.”

“Are…Are you kicking me out of NYU?” Clara said in horror, glancing around helplessly, looking for some sort of sign that she was mistaken. This can’t be happening.

“Clara,” Dr. Senka started.

“I can do this!” Clara said as a spark of desperation lit her aflame, tears streaming, “I start therapy next week, I’ve already seen a psychiatrist, I have support! I’m going to be fine!”

“You’re clearly not fine,” Dean Pomare replied, “You can’t even have a calm discussion with us.”

_What in the name of gaslighting bullshit is this?_

“This is not a discussion, this an ultimatum!” Clara cried.

“The emotional toll of being the victim of such a horrible crime-“

“I am _not_ a victim,” Clara hissed, “And stop pretending you’re doing me a favor. You don’t care about me. You care about NYU.”

“We are so sorry you feel that way,” Dr. Pomare sighed, “Hopefully one day you will see we had your best interests at heart. We truly wish you success in your future endeavors.”

This was really happening.

Clara’s only thought was to escape. She stood up and exploded through the grand door, out into the hallway. She sprinted until she found a bathroom, slipping inside and locking the door.

The tears were unstoppable. All of her dreams were crumbling down around her. She wanted to shake her 11-year-old self that was still in the audience of In The Heights in her memory. Scream at her. Tell her to leave the theater and never look back.

She fished around in her bag to get her phone. She opened twitter and saw Hamilton was trending. Nearly every tweet on her feed linked to the article.

She read the comments, stumbling through this haunting museum of her own humiliation, each exhibit worse than the last.

Everyone knows. Her career is over. Her life is over.

Her entire existence, cut and burned down to one moment of being completely powerless.

Her mother was right.

Clara couldn’t breathe.

God, she can’t breathe.

She began to dig in her bag once again, searching for the orange prescription bottle. She found it and managed to unscrew it, despite her trembling hands. She put a tablet on her tongue and let it dissolve, just like the pharmacist had told her.

There was simply no air in this goddamn bathroom. She turned on the sink, blasting the cold water. She stuck her hands under the torrent of water, hoping to feel something, anything other than this. She took her soaking wet hands and pressed them to her cheeks, hoping to cool down the burning tears on her skin. Giving up entirely, she gripped the sink as she sank to the floor.

Who did this? Who leaked this story?

She unlocked her phone. Lin was the last person she had texted. She tapped his name and the call connected. She wasn’t even sure she could speak, but she needed someone.

\----------

Lin sat in the back of the taxi, waiting for Vanessa to return. She was passing Seb off to Luz before they headed to meet with Tommy.

His phone began to vibrate. Finally, it was Clara. He picked up before the first ring had even finished.

“Clara?” Lin answered.

He was met with the sound of Clara hysterically sobbing.

He hung his head. It hurt to listen to her suffer like this.

“Clara, estás bien,” Lin tried steadily, “¿Puedes hablarme, mija?”

_Clara, you’re okay. Can you talk to me, sweetie?_

“Lin,” was the best Clara could muster.

“Estoy aquí, sólo respira.”

_I’m here, just breathe._

“Ev-everyone knows,” Clara cried, “and they, they kicked me out of NYU.”

“What? Who kicked you out of NYU?”

“I just met with the deans,” Clara explained, “They kicked me out.”

She dissolved back into sobs.

“No,” Lin replied, his voice darkened, “No they didn’t. Where are you right now?”

“I j-just got out of their office, in the Kinley building.”

“Can you send me your location?”

“Mhm.”

“We’re in midtown dropping off Seb. Vanessa and I will be there in 10 minutes, okay?”

“Okay.”

\-------

Clara could feel the medication dulling the fire in her chest down to crackling embers. She calmed down enough to go out into the hallway and find a bench to sit on, silently crying.

“Clara.”

She looked up and saw Dean Colby. She said nothing.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m perfectly fine, how’s NYU’s image?” Clara asked bitterly, “Pristine, I’m sure?”

“Is there someone I can call for you?” He began, moving toward her.

Clara, already in her heightened stated, detected this as a threat.

“Get away from me!” She yelled, jumping off of the bench.

“HEY!” Lin appeared at the end of the hall with Vanessa, “Back off.”

“M-Mr. Miranda,” Dean Colby replied in shock. Lin-Manuel Miranda was the last person he was expecting to see. “I was-“

“Whatever you were doing clearly upset her, so back. off.” Lin commanded, his tone so different from any Clara had ever heard.

“Mija,” Vanessa sighed as she arrived by Clara, hugging her, “Are you alright?”

Clara nodded with a sniffle.

“This is one of the deans,” Clara said, nodding to the man.

“Oh good, just the man I was looking for,” Lin said dead cold.

Dean Colby visibly paled.

“Why don’t we speak in Dr. Senka’s office,” he muttered, leading them down the hall.

Dr. Senka and Dean Pomare were still chatting when Dean Colby knocked. Their faces were absolutely priceless when Lin entered the room, you and Vanessa in tow.

They attempted to greet Lin, but he really was not in the mood for pleasantries.

“Would one of you like to explain to me why Clara was told that she was no longer welcome in your program?” Lin asked.

The men shared panicked looks.

“Mr. Miranda…” Dean Pomare began, “We are very concerned about the effects such a horrible… _trauma_ may have on Clara’s studies. We believe it would be in her best interest to take this time to… focus on recovering.”

“I’m sorry, remind me of your name?” Lin asked.

“Dr. Pomare, I’m the de-“

“Your doctorate—it wouldn’t happen to be in psychology or medicine?”

“No.”

“So what exactly makes you believe you’re qualified to evaluate Clara’s mental fitness?” Lin asked, feigning confusion.

“I can assure you, we are acting in Clara’s b-“

“STOP. Talking,” Lin interrupted, “Because I swear to god, if I hear you say you’re acting in Clara’s best interest _one more time_...”

Lin paused to gather himself.

“You and I both know that this is about NYU keeping up appearances and protecting your program,” Lin firmly planted his hands on Dr. Senka’s desk, leaning towards him, “If I were you, I would think very carefully about this decision because what I will do to NYU’s reputation will make today’s article look like a glowing testimonial from Barbara Streisand herself. I could destroy this _entire_ place with a single fucking tweet and I promise you, that would only be the beginning.”

Clara was lucky that Vanessa had an arm around her because she may have fallen over otherwise.

“I’m sure there is still room to… _reconsider_ our initial… suggestion…” Dr. Senka spoke tentatively, looking at his colleagues with thinly veiled desperation.

“Yes, yes,” Dean Pomare agreed quickly in a panic, “There is plenty of room for discussion as to what will be best for Clara.”

“Clara,” Lin called, still staring at the men, “Since you’re here in this room and deserve to be spoken to, not about, _and_ don’t need decisions to be made on your behalf by men who abuse their power over vulnerable young women…” Lin finally turned to Clara and gently asked: “What do you think would be best for you?”

Clara was so thoroughly shocked, she could hardly remember how to speak. Vanessa gave her arm a squeeze in encouragement.

“I-I think staying in the program would be best for me.”

“Excellent,” Lin smiled with a wink, turning back to face the men, “Any questions?”

They looked like a group of bobbleheads, frantically shaking their heads.

“I’m glad we’re all in agreement then,” Lin said with a small contented sigh, “Have a nice day.”

Lin turned on his heel and led Clara and Vanessa out, closing the door behind them. Once they were back in the hall, Lin realized that was quite a dramatic show and hoped it wasn’t too overwhelming for Clara.

“Are you okay?” Lin asked softly, reaching towards her.

“Thank you,” Clara nodded, tucking herself under his arm.

“It’s what you deserve,” He said steadily.

Tears came to Clara’s eyes. She smiled through them and nodded, trying to convince herself it was true.

Now to face the rest of this mess.

**A/N: Dad!Lin is back at it and wow, what an MVP. Please leave a comment if you have a hot second.**

**I know it seems like it's just one thing after another for Clara and she can't catch a break... Welcome to the realities of being sexually assaulted. It's so much more than people think. The trauma doesn't end when the assault ends, that's for fucking sure.**


End file.
